Discovery
by Mariah Norton
Summary: When Jack gets amnesia, how will the guardians react? Will he ever regain his memories? Is it, perhaps, better if he doesn't? Pitch certainly seems to think so...
1. The Fall

Jack had loved winter for as long as he could remember. All three hundred plus years. Ever since he had regained his memories, however, he knew it went back even farther than that. As a human, winter was always his favorite season because of all the snowball fights, sled races, snowmen armies and convenient ammo for stuffing down little sisters' shirts. He loved remembering her adorable giggles and squeals as he led her into a fantasy land of fluffy whiteness, where games and fun seemedto literally drip from the ice laden branches.

When he came back as the spirit of winter he found that he had new abilities to help him enjoy the season even more. He was never bothered by the cold. He was able to make friends with the winds and fly, _fly!_ He was always the first to see each perfect little snowflake. And for some reason, he now found it difficult to slip on ice.

Now, it wasn't that he couldn't slip on ice. It was more like he somehow could tell exactly where rough patches were and exactly how quickly he should move. All this without putting the slightest thought into it. If he was surprised though, or overwhelmed by something, he could easily fall with a bit of flailing and a whump on his back. But it had been over fifty years since the last time that had happened.

So it was understandable that after so long of not having to worry about the slickness of ice that he was doubled over and holding his sides as he shook with laughter at the guardians' attempt at ice skating. Jack had been sweet talked into attempting to sew a teddy bear, paint a googie, mold things out of sand, and identify teeth in the ten months since the close of the battle with Pitch. Each guardian had reacted differently as he one by one failed horribly at the tasks given to him.

At the sight of his sideways-headed, three limbed teddy bear, North had laughed so hard he cried. The googie he had painted, when set back amongst the others, had immediately began to be teased and picked on until the outbreak of a googie fight that resulted in thirteen destroyed googies and forty-seven in need of a new coat of paint. Bunny had assessed the situation and calmly forbade Jack from painting any more of them. Ever. Sandy had eventually gotten across that it wasn't fair to ask a sand sculpture of someone that couldn't control sand like he could, and Tooth had given him a forced smile, telling him that it didn't matter that he sorted every single one wrongly, he had still helped. Somehow.

But now it was his turn to watch, and he was loving it. Sandy slid past him, turning in slow circles on his rump and gave a dead pan wave as he caught Jack's eye. North and Tooth were facing each other and trying to stay up by inter locking hands, though the height and weight difference was really only making things worse for both of them. Bunny was sitting on the bank of the lake, muttering to himself as he fussed with his skates. He looked up when he realized Jack was glancing at him, the latters eyes still sparkling with amusement.

"Ey, what you laughin' at ya drongo?!"

"Oh nothing, nothing." He said as he sauntered over to Bunny, staff hooked behind his neck, making a show of how easy this was for him. "Just wondering why you gave up so fast."

"ey! No ones givin' up. I'm just... Readjustin' things." Jack snickered shamelessly. "Don't ya go gigglin' at me! I'd be skatin' rings around you if there were skates that fit my feet right. Shoes were never meant for rabbits, mate."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Flopsy. But really, I think everyone's about ready to quit. We've been here for an hour and a half, and while I'm still laughing, it looks like no one else is having fun any more."

"Ya mean I can take these things off? Now there's some welcome news!" He immediately began pulling on the left skate, which came off after a few hard tugs. "Never gave up, mind ya. Just don't wanna hold back anyone that wants ta leave." He started pulling on the other skate as Jack turned around to signal the others. The right skate wasn't coming off so easily, though. Bunny tugged harder and harder until, without warning it flew off of his foot, the momentum throwing him forward and into Jacks legs.

Jack only had time for half a cry as something barreled into him. He skid a foot or so, and in trying to replace his balance, threw himself backwards. For the first time in over fifty years, Jack Frost slipped and fell out on the ice. There was no whump, or rear end this time though. What there was was a sickening crack as his skull slammed into the ice. Then there was silence as darkness overtook him. He lay limply in a small, but quickly growing pool of red.

oOo

"Crikey, that did not sound good..." Cursed Bunny as he scuttled over to where his young friend lay. At seeing Jack go down, Tooth had frantically risen off of her skates and flown over to them. North and Sandy continued making their way over as quickly as they could without also ending up on the ice.

"Oh my goodness, Jack!" Gasped Tooth when she saw the winter sprite's situation.

"What ees wrong?" Called North loudly as he neared, a few steps behind Sandy. "Why ees not getting up? Ees Jack alright?"

Bunny, already on the ground, stuck one of his large ears against Jacks chest. "He's breathin'. That's somethin' at least." He informed them all. Everyone was standing around Jack now, wondering what to do next.

"Jack, wake up." whispered Tooth tentatively as she flit from side to side. Sandy stepped forward with a sand-made giant hand and mimed slapping Jack a few times.

"No, ya dill! He's got a head injury. Lets take 'im back to the pole, fix up his head wound, and then worry about wakin' 'im up." Sandy nodded, looking only slightly sheepish, while North pulled a transport globe out of his front pocket. Bunny stood up and shook himself off. He went to grab Jack, but Sandy already had him in a sand hammock.

By the time they found a room to lay him in, Jacks head wound had already clotted. This calmed them all slightly, but no one liked the size of the bump rising on he back of his skull. Tooth took it upon herself to clean the wound and wash the bright crimson stain out of Jack's hair. When all was taken care of, they decided that the best thing they could do was let him sleep it off. Nothing they did was waking him up anyway.

"Please don't be in coma, Jack." Whispered North as he took his turn keeping an eye on the boy during his third day of sleep. "That would... What ees slang nowadays... Suck." They all made sure he didn't come down with a fever, and even checked his pupils at one point. All they could tell was that his pupils did dilate, but not what that meant.

It was five days before Jack regained consciousness. Bunny was readjusting his blankets when Jack took a sudden, abnormally deep breath and cracked open his eyes. "Jack! Yer awake!" The guardian of hope exclaimed excitedly. He ran and stuck his head out the door. "North! C'mere! Frostbites awake!" He hopped back and ruffled Jacks hair carefully. "Blimey ya gave us a shock, snowflake! How ya feelin'?" Bleary eyes looked up at Bunny slowly.

"Where am I?" Jack asked. He moved on to analyzing the room around him.

"A room in the workshop. North cleared it out so ya'd have a place ta rest easy for a tick."

"By tick, Bunny ees meaning five days. We were beginning to have real concern for you, Jack." North had entered and was now standing by the end of the bed.

"I don't... I... Sorry. But-" Jack mumbled, only to be cut off.

"We must call Sandy and Tooth! They will be wanting to know of improvement." He turned to the door, where a small congregation of yetis had gathered. Bunny took this opportunity to scrutinize the pale youth closely. He looked better, that was definite. His bump had nearly quartered in size, and he knew that the gash on Jack's head was almost completely healed. That being said though, Bunnymund did not like the way Jack was staring at North and him. He had a deep furrow in his brow, and seemed disoriented. Like he couldn't quite get a grasp on reality.

Bunny hopped closer to the bedside. "Ya never answered my question. Are ya feelin' okay?"

"Yeah...just... I don't know. Can you tell me-"

"Of course ees not feeling well!" The jolly man interrupted, making his way back to the bed. Instructions had been given, and the yetis dispersed so North had rejoined the conversation. "Has been asleep for five days! Must be hungry."

"Is that it, mate? Ya feelin' a bit nippy?"

"No, that's not... Well, maybe a little, but that's besides the point! What I really want to know is-"

"Where bathroom ees?" Asked North, interrupting the poor boy yet again. "This ees different part of workshop. It ees-"

"No!" Said Jack loudly. "Listen to me! How did I get here? What is this workshop you keep talking about? And who the heck are the two of you?!"


	2. Explanations

Bunnymund was the first to react to such an unexpected exclamation. "Ah, no no no... Ya ain't pullin' that one on me, mate. Ya had me goin' for a second, there." He leaned over and grabbed Jack's cheeks, one in each paw. "But then I remembered who ya were. Trickster-" He gave the boy's cheeks a small tug on each syllable. "Ex-traor-di-naire. Ya can't fool this one, Frostbite."

Jack just stared up at him incredulously for a second. When he regained his senses, he swatted Bunny's paws away and started to sit up. "Look," he snapped. "I don't know how you know me, or where you think we met, but I don't know you. I think I would remember meeting a talking kangaroo."

"Kangaroo!?" Blustered Bunny. "Ya know how old that insult is? Ya've been usin' that one since even before '68! And here I thought ya were serious when ya apologized for it last year. Even if ya weren't, how is it even still funny to ya?" He narrowed his eyes expectantly. Now Jack would say, "cause your reactions never get old." Or "you have your weird nicknames for me, I have mine for you." Or maybe he'd just shrug in that nonchalant way of his and flash that slightly lopsided grin. While any of those would have ticked Bunny off on a normal day, he would welcome any one of them right now. Anything was better then the fiercely skeptical look Jack was giving him at the moment. He was about to say something more when North pushed him aside to stand directly in front of Jack.

"You do not remember?" He asked, concern coloring his tone. "You don't remember belly?" He grabbed two handfuls of said belly, letting it jiggle. "Or... Wonder?" He pushed his face closer to Jack's until their foreheads were almost touching. Jack tried to scoot back only to bump into the headboard of the bed. All he could see were two piercing blue ellipses. He pulled an arm between their faces to block the proximity.

"No, I don't. Should I?"

"Nah, not really." Said Bunny scathingly as he began to pace back and forth slowly. "You, me. Sandy, Tooth. North. We've never really interacted much, ya know. Did lunch, maybe. A round of cards. Saved each others lives multiple times. Nothin' important."

"Bunny! Ees time for quiet now. If ees true..." North backed up and leaned on the foot of the bed. "Jack," he began, "please tell me what happened on lake. What you do remember." A glimmer of recognition flitted across Jack's eyes.

"I remember a lake. That was where I woke up."

"Woke up?" Queried North.

"Yeah... And then the-" he stopped abruptly, looking uncomfortable. "Well, anyway, it was where I fell asleep last night, too. So waking up here was _slightly_ disorienting."

"Go back." North demanded. "'And then the-' what?"

"Nothing." Jack said quickly. "You'll think I'm crazy."

"We already know ya belong on a funny farm, ice pop. Go ahead 'n let us in." That was Bunny, of course. He'd found a chair near the corner and was observing the conversation from a distance. Jack threw a glare his way, then returned his attention to North.

"Well, then... I learned my name."

"You're name?"

"Yeah. From the... From the moon."

Bunny leaned forward in the chair he'd sat himself in. " ya learned your name... Last night?"

"Yes." He replied resolutely. "Oh, but you said I'd been asleep for five days, didn't you? The last time I was awake, then. Same difference."

Jack tried to avoid the gaping stares of his two companions. When he realized that they were frozen, he continued talking. "Honestly, I'm just happy you can see me. I mean, now that I think about it, maybe it was just a nightmare. I thought that last night, I visited this village, and...well, no one could see me. They couldn't touch me either, just walked right through me. Pretty weird, huh?"

Bunny slowly closed his mouth, only to open it again. He eventually found his voice. "And all this happened to ya just last night? The last time ya were awake?"

"Like I said, maybe. I thought so."

A knock on the open door drew their attention away from the tense atmosphere in the room. Tooth forcefully squeezed herself past the yeti that had made their presence known and into the room. "Oh, sweet tooth, you have no idea how worried we were! I'm so glad you're awake." She patted both of his cheeks, then pulled him into a quick, tight hug. She flitted behind him to inspect his wounds. After a few seconds, she flew back in front of him, amethysts eyes glittering with relief, as Sandy entered the room.

Sandy gave him a simple thumbs up and a smile, then came closer to pat one of his ankles. Jack looked at them for a moment, though recovered far more quickly this time. It appeared he was getting somewhat used to strangers barging in and acting overly familiar. He gathered his thoughts, an exasperated expression creeping over his face.

"More of you?" He asked. " I really must have missed something. Do all of you. people-"

"Sandy, Tooth!" North cut in quickly. "Jack said earlier he was little peckish. Would you kindly fetch yeti for me?" Sandy created an arrow pointing at himself and gave the toy maker a questioning look.

"Both of us?" Wondered Tooth, flitting slightly in first Jack's direction, then Sandy's and finally North's.

"Yes. Trust me, ees necessary."

"No, really. I don't need-" Jack began, only to once more have North's large voice overlap and drown him out. He frowned. It seemed he only had a fifty-fifty chance of getting a sentence out without being interrupted.

"No arguing! I will not having starving boy under my roof." North straightened up and faced the two new come guardians, making shoo shoo motions with his hands. Sandy left first, and Tooth eventually followed, throwing confused glanced behind her the whole way. North smiled and gave little waves until they were out of the room, when he promptly shut the door.

"Why do you have such problem with letting me talk?" Demanded Jack angrily.

"I am going to tell you as bluntly as possible. Jack, you have amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for telling me, but I really already knew that."

"Of course ya did!" Bunny interjected. "'Cause your puttin' us on! It's London to a brick you're feedin' us a pork pie!" He looked from Jack to North in annoyance. When he didn't get an immediate response, he stood and headed to the door. When he got there he turned to look at Jack. "A blokes gotta know when 'e's taken somethin' too far." He commented sharply, and shut the door behind him so hard it bounced back open.

Jack met North's gaze, half shocked, half bemused. "Pork pie?" He asked quizzically.

"When Bunnymund ees excited, Australian background shines through little more, da?"

"That's his name? Bunnymund?"

"Indeed it ees."

"And you are..."

"Nicolas St. North. Maybe more recognition from other name, Santa."

"You're Santa Clause?" The dark eyebrows, so striking against his pale face, rose again.

"Yes. You truly don't remember me? Or any of us?"

"No. Sorry."

"But you said before, you know you have amnesia?"

"Of course. I just woke up and learned my own name yester- a couple days ago. Other than that, I don't remember anything."

"No, no. I mean after that. Jack, that was the day you were chosen by Man in Moon. It has been over three hundred years since that day."

"Three hundred years! You mean I got amnesia a _second_ time?"

"I think so. If you do not remember us guardians, or Pitch... It appears so."

"Did I ever find out who I was? Who I... Am?"

"Da. I was there when you discovered your center."

"And now I've forgotten again. Perfect." Jack slapped the bed, averting his eyes from North's. What was the point of finding out, then, if he just forgot again? And it sounded like it had taken three hundred years to get where he had been, only to be hurled back to square one. He never realized he could get so frustrated over things he didn't even know had happened. He could feel angry tears pricking behind his eyes, and he shoved them away.

"I will leave you alone for while." Said North, sensing his teammates inner turmoil. "I must break news to Sandy and Tooth, anyway."

"Did I know them too?"

"Yes. They will be very sad to hear of predicament. But do not worry,my young friend. We will not give up on you! We will see if we can get your memory back!"

Jack gave him a half-hearted smile, and started to lay back down. He really was tired, though that didn't make sense considering how long he'd apparently been asleep already. The door swung shut with a soft click as North left. Jack closed his eyes. If anything, he could always hope he would dream his memories back.

**That's it this time! Sorry, I know not a lot happened. Next time though, see how the guardians each come up with their own battle plan to restore Jack's memories!**


	3. Realization

"He doesn't… remember?" asked Tooth quietly, horror etched into every line of her expression. They had gathered in the globe room for a conference. The news had just been broken to Sandy and Tooth, and neither were receiving it well. "Not… _anything_?"

"No. He doesn't " confirmed North grimly. Bunny was standing a little ways off from everyone else, and they heard him snort dismissively. "I have spoken with him." the big man added forcefully. "I believe he ees sincere." Tooth seemed not to know what to do.

"He doesn't remember any of us?" she flitted a couple of feet to the left. "Or Jamie?" her voice rose an octave or two, and she flew behind North frantically. "Or the battle with Pitch?" she darted forward, so she was beside him and looking into his eyes pleadingly. "_Nothing_?"

"I am afraid so." He clapped a meaty hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "But amnesia ees not end! Many peoples memories return to them! We" he paused for emphasis, then raised his hands excitedly. "will help him!" Sandy, who had been standing in sort of a shell shocked state, seemed to reawaken to the world. He nodded vigorously, and raised a hand of his own.

"Lovely. And now he's got ya all believin' that your psychiatrists.." Bunny swung around to face them, arms crossed, disgust obvious in his voice. It seemed he had decided to join the conversation. "All of ya are crazy. Ya know that?" His voice grew harder with every word, and the guardian of hope appeared to be doing his best to drain it from the room. "Your freakin' out over a problem that doesn't even exist!" He continued. "Frostbite's sucked all of ya in, but when he finally breaks and starts laughin'... When he yells 'gotcha', I'm gonna be the only one who will be able to say, 'not me. Not this time, but good try, mate.' And all of ya are gonna be standin' around, feelin' like a bunch of drop kicks. Wishin' ya'd listened." He glared at them all, his expression daring them to disagree.

"Aster." Bunny's eyes widened slightly at this sudden word from North. It had been a very long time since anyone had called him by anything but his last name. A very long time indeed. He met the man's gaze steadily and waited for him to continue, albeit defensively. "Why so steadfast in belief that Jack ees cracking joke?" North's words were curious under his reprimanding tone.

"Obviously because of Manny." Replied Bunny, without a moments hesitation. "There is no way he'd lead Jack on the journey he's been on, given him friends," he gestured around the room. "and...and believers," a motion towards the globe beside them, its lights sparkling happily. "if he was just gonna take it all away again. He wouldn't do that."

"You said same thing when Jack was chosen as guardian." North parried.

"Maybe so, but-"

"No buts!" The bigger man said loudly. "No maybe! I do not pretend to understand Manny, or his plans. And you also should not."

"If it involves bein' this cruel, I don't wanna understand." He took a few steps toward the closest wall and leaned against it. "Anyway, go ahead 'n continue. Don't let me interrupt. I just wanna watch. Usually its me that's victim to that little blighter's tricks, but now its your guys' turn. I'm just an observer today." He settled in and watched them expectantly.

The other guardians looked from one to another uncomfortably. After a last glance at the stewing rabbit, Tooth turned to face the other two.

"What can we do? Do either of you know anything about amnesia?"

"No..." said North thoughtfully. "But let us think logically. When you forget normal thing, what do you do?"

"Retrace my line of thoughts." said Tooth slowly. "I go back and think about the same things I was thinking when I forgot." She rose a few feet higher in the air from her excitement. "Do you think that would work?"

"I do not know..." North said a little uncertainly. "I do not think it would be that easy. To just speak to him of past things?" He fiddled with his beard while he contemplated their options.

Sandy came forward and tugged on North's sleeve. With their attention now on him, a sand replica of Jack's staff appeared, and he was so excited he pointed to it a couple of times. He smiled at them hopefully.

"His staff..." mused Tooth. "He's spent much more of his three hundred years with his staff than he did with us! maybe if we give it back to him, memories of the things he did with it will come back to him! He relies on it for everything after all. Fighting, flying, creating storms... I'm sure it would help!"

"I put it under bed in room." said North, enthusiasm growing. "Let us go reunite them!' He turned and made for the door, and the others followed closely behind. None of them were sure if this idea would work. It was a little far-fetched, after all. But then again, they all knew what a big part of Jack's fundamental being his staff was. This was surely worth a try.

oOo

Jack was still asleep when the four entered the room. They filed in, and hurried to quiet their footsteps when they saw how peaceful he looked.

"Maybe we should come back later." Suggested Tooth. She smiled affectionately down at the boy. With his slow deep breathing and contented expression to mask the worry and confusion she had seen there earlier, it was hard to believe he wasn't the same old Jack. She hoped he was having a good dream. She glanced down at Sandy in time to see him spin out a coil of dream sand. When it reached Jack, it immediately shaped itself into the moon.

"I agree." Said North in reply to Tooth's statement. "Jack ees in need of his rest." He turned to the door, but was cut off as Bunny crossed in front of him. Before anyone could stop him, the rabbit was shaking Jack's shoulder mercilessly and pulling the blankets off him.

"C'mon, ya bludger. Up." Jack curled in on himself at the sudden absence of the blankets, and his eyes tightened a little.

"Bunny, stop!" Tooth zipped over to him and grabbed one of his arms. Bunny simply continued with the other, giving the spirit of fun a light smack on the shoulder.

"Y'heard me. UP." Bunny repeated, slightly louder this time. Jack's eyes slit open and he stared up at Bunny for a moment.

"Wha-?" He mumbled. After a few seconds, his expression cleared slightly and he sat up while rubbing his eyes to help them adjust. "Oh. The pain-garoo is back. You _would_ attack me in my sleep."

"What!? You think I'm a- why, you-" Bunny turned to the others indignantly. "He just called me a- a-" His loss of words was only making harder for Tooth to swallow her smile. He shook her off of his arm, and turned to Sandy only to see him puff his cheeks out and quarter turn away to hide his soundless laughter. North didn't even try. His roar of amusement filled up the small room. Bunny took in their reactions, and realized he had no one on his side. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that he may have deserved it, though.

The others' faith in Jack's sincerity had been getting to him, and he'd only wanted to see the boys reaction when given his staff. But, he thought ruefully, I didn't have ta act like such rat bag. Still! He questioned defiantly. Pain-garoo?

The name brought a question to Bunnymund's mind. He thought about it for a second, then slowly smiled to himself. Ya've dug yourself into a hole, now, mate. He thought darkly. The kangaroo comments'll always be the end of ya.

Tooth was in the middle of apologizing for Bunny's actions when a voice came from behind her. "Ya ever been ta Australia, Frostbite?" It asked.

Jack looked around when no one answered. "Is he talking to me?" He asked curiously, remembering that Bunny had called him that before, when he had first woken up here.

"Yes." Came the reply. "I am."

"Well then, no. Not that I can remember, anyway."

"Ever seen pictures? Of the Australian outback? Or _wildlife_?"

"I don't think so."

E. Aster Bunnymund pushed his way to the front and brought himself up to his full height. "Then how exactly do you know what a kangaroo even is?" His voice was low and final, confidence mapped on his features.

"I don't know." Jack admitted sheepishly. "I don't know why I know some things, but not others. I know kangaroo, and panda, and other things, but not how I know. Or even where I learned them from. Sorry." The answer brought the pookah up short.

Bunny deflated. For a second, disappointment flashed over his face. Then it lit up again as he remembered something. He got down on his knees and pushed a paw under the bed. "Well then... How about..." He felt around until he pulled out Jack's staff. "...this!" He held it up to him.

Jack stared at it intently. Something lit up in his eyes. "I know this!" He grabbed it, and frost curled around it again. The previous coat had melted off in its warm spot under the bed. Tooth raised her hands to her mouth, and Sandy nodded encouragingly. Bunny and North watched tensely. "Yes..." Jack whispered. "This was there when I woke up too!"

Jack scrambled out of bed, excitedly gripping his old companion. "Watch! Look what I can do with it!" He hurried to a wall and touched the tip of the crook to it lightly. A beautiful frost covering blossomed on the surface. Jack's eyes glowed as he watched the design grow. He ran to another wall, then a bedpost, his expression something akin to a child reveling in his new toy on Christmas. Bunny's heart sank into his stomach. They were gorgeous designs, but the Jack he knew could do better. Wouldn't have been so proud of something so simple.

Jack wasn't done yet, though. "And look!" he cried. He waited for something to happen but it didn't. He glanced up at them, suddenly self-conscious. "I swear I could do it last night... Fly!"

"There's no wind..." Murmured Tooth. She went to the window and cracked it open for him, a depressed aura following her. Jack didn't notice. As soon as a breeze had entered, he had risen off the floor. He hovered there unsteadily, wobbling every few seconds. He pointed forward, but misjudged the distance and went sprawling. Bunny's heart was now in his large feet, and he felt like he'd just tried to swallow a googie whole. Jack wasn't this clumsy. As the new one got up and dusted himself off, looking like he deserved a gold medal, Bunny realized that this was no act. He stumbled back a step and ran a paw over his ears. It had been a long time since he'd felt the sting of tears, but now he had to beat them down. Tooth wasn't so hardened though. In his peripheral, he noticed a single tear roll down her cheek. She quickly wiped it off and smiled, though. She flew closer to Jack and brightly told him how fantastic he had been.

Bunny was having a harder time accepting things. To think that someone who had such an important place in his life... He now had no place in theirs. He was the only one remembering fun times, and smiles. He alone could think fondly back on past laughs and arguments. He clenched his paws in silent suffering and glanced down to see how Sandy was taking it. He realized that the little man hadn't looked up from the floor in quite a few minutes. North was mimicking Tooth's energy and clapping Jack on the shoulders, a crinkly-eyed smile plastered onto his face. Bunny wondered if Jack could sense the underlying grief in the room. Bunny hated to add to it, but he needed a few more minutes. Just a few more minutes to mourn the loss of one of his most precious relationships.

oOo

While the guardians were thus preoccupied, no one saw the nightmare slip from a dark corner of the room and out of the window. No one knew that it would only take it a short time to reach the nightmare king's lair and report what it had seen. How could they, after all? At this news, Pitch would reel back in shock, and then slowly begin to smile that pointy smile of his at this new idea... This scheme in the womb.

Things were about to get a lot more complicated for the guardians. By tenfold, at least. And it all stemmed from Jack being once again as close as he ever would be to existing as a neutral party. This time, however, Pitch wouldn't let the critical time frame pass him by. It was simple, really. Trade the bond with the guardians that Jack had conveniently forgotten about... For a bond with him. Pitch still believed that together, he and Jack could be great. The greatest, in fact. All he had to do now was wait for the right opportunity.

And he had a feeling that he wouldn't need to wait long at all.

**Hey! And there's chapter three. I changed North's accent a little... Good? Bad? Let me know! And also, suggestions and predictions are very welcome! **

**Love, Mariah.**


	4. Chapter 4: Suggestions

It was beginning to be evening at the pole, but only just barely. Jack, deciding that he'd had enough rest, had taken his rekindled energy and staff outside to explore further what kind of new things he could do. Tooth had gone with him to keep him company while North, Bunny, and Sandy had relocated to the toy makers private workroom. Each had found something to keep them occupied.

North was sketching up some new plans for a walking doll. Bunny was lounging on a large red sofa, absent-mindedly throwing his boomerang into the air, then catching it on its way down. Sandy sat next to him, kicking at an elf that kept trying to swipe some of the brightly colored candies he had grabbed to snack on. It was quiet in the room, but Bunny had a question. Although he didn't want to be the one to break the silence, the next time his boomerang dropped into his hand he refrained from throwing it again, asking aloud his concern.

"Do ya think he'll try 'n leave? Now that he's better?" then, more tentative, "Now that he... doesn't know us?"

The scratching of North's pencil continued through his answer. "I do not know. I hope that ees not case." He stopped for a moment to take a swig of the milk sitting beside him, then resumed both his work and his talking. "I am still hopeful that we can return memories to him. We should not give up on him because first idea did not work out. In event that he does not remember, however, we can always just grow new bond with him. He ees still same Jack, and we are still same us. Amnesia does not change that."

"A new bond, eh?" murmured Bunny in a distracted manner. Sandy glanced over at him, threw the elf he had been holding by the hat into a pile of socks and underwear in the corner, then patted Bunny's forearm for attention. Huh, thought Bunny as he watched the elf struggle to right himself, eyes pin-wheeling drunkenly. I guess non-believin' kids really do get knickers for Christmas. He dragged his eyes back to Sandy.

His friend had made a life-size, golden version of Jack. It stood in front of them, waved, then started walking away only to be suddenly bound by other ropes of dream sand and rendered immobile. Sandy nodded, then looked up at Bunny for approval. His smile was as genuine as ever, yet in his eyes Bunny could see that the display had been more than just a joke. He was trying to cheer up his downtrodden friend.

Bunny chuckled, spirits lifted in spite of himself. "No, ya gumby. If he wants ta leave, we can't just keep 'im tied up here. It was a nice idea, though." He smiled back at his tender-hearted friend.

A sound from behind Sandy drew their attention. A second elf had snuck up behind the couch, scaled the back, and begun to raid the unattended dish on the arm of the sofa. It froze when it realized that it had been noticed, cheeks so stuffed with sugar covered gum drops that one fell back into the silver bowl. It gave a squeak, then took a suicide jump off the back cushion of the couch. It scrambled away, hat bell jingling frantically, leaving a trail of dropped candies in its wake. Sandy huffed, placing the candy bowl in his lap with a thump.

Bunny laughed, knowing that the elves could be very annoying at times. He laughed even harder as he remembered the time Jack had tried to sneak some shortbread cookies from the kitchen. It had only taken the elves a minute or so to sniff them out, then maul each other as they fought to get inside said pockets first. The incident had ended with Jacks pants around his knees, a pile of elves around his feet, and a fiery halo of blush around his face. Every guardian had been in the room at the time. When Bunny thought about it, it was probably more merciful to let Jack forget that particular memory. He was sobered as the thought brought a second question to his mind. This time, though, it pushed its way past his lips without Bunny's consent.

"Do ya think it might be better for 'im if he doesn't remember?" The effect on the room was almost instantaneous. Sandy froze, a yellow gumdrop halfway to his open mouth, staring at Bunny in shock. The continuous scratch of the pencil had stopped. Silence resounded until North turned around to look Bunny in the eyes.

"What?" he asked the rabbit incredulously. Bunny took a moment to give an internal sigh of relief. At first, he had thought that the big man had been angry, but now he saw that he was just incredibly surprised. He decided it was safe to continue.

"Think about it, mate." he reasoned. "Sure there's a lotta things he'd wanna remember, but what is it he always said when we asked him what he did for three hundred years, 'fore we really knew him?" Bunny gave a terrible impression of Jacks voice, "Oh, ya know. Had a snowball fight. Sent some storms." North's joined him as they finished the recitation in sync. "Hung out, the usual."

"Yes, that may be so," admitted North, "But while it is true that he does not have a lot to say about his years alone-"

Bunny cut him off and leaned forward in his seat. "Or he just doesn't have a lot to say to _us_. You know how he is. Maybe he was just trying to stop us from worrying about how horrible we were to him while he spent three centuries goin' solo. All I'm sayin' is that maybe theres not a lot there in that memory of his besides loneliness."

"He must have happy memories." argued his companion. "We were not with him, so we do not know what special things happened during that time."

"Thats exactly what I'm sayin'. _We weren't there_." The agitated pookah sheathed his boomerang, stood, and began to pace. Sandy followed him with his eyes, North with his chin rested on his palm. He thought he could see where Bunny was going with this one.

Sandy knocked on his candy dish, the _ting ting ting_ bringing the others' attention to him. Above his head, a heartbreaking scene unfolded. Jack, flying. Around, in front of, above, a group of children. When he continued to be walked away from, he stopped in front of them. It was evident he was speaking to them, but was brought up short when the first golden child burst right through the sand of Jack's torso. He moved out of the way of the other kids, clutching his stomach. He pulled the hood over his head, stood there for a moment, then flew forlornly in an opposite direction.

"Have either of ya ever been walked through?" The inquiry came from Bunny, who was shivering at the memory of his own time being passed through. Both of them nodded, grim expressions adorning their faces. "Imagine livin' like that for three centuries. Three hundred years. Not only that, but the ones who can see ya, know your there, leave ya to your own devices!" He took a breath and leaned against a shelf, poking at a glittering snowman figurine as he spoke. "All I'm sayin' is that maybe this is our chance to start over. Be there for 'im from the beginning."

"So you want to leave him ignorant and confused for sole purpose of taking away your own guilt?"

"No! Yes. I... Don't ya think that too? Even a little bit?"

"I can see appeal. However-" Suddenly, something large and heavy crashed into the window. A yelp in what could only be Jack's voice escaped the figure as it slid down the window to the ground. The three in the room stared at the point of impact, hearts racing from shock. After a moment, they were able to gather their wits.

North was closest to the window, so was the first one there. He undid the latch, then flung it open. Bunny and Sandy were already peeking over his shoulder, Sandy standing on the rungs of a sand ladder he'd leaned against the wall. Twilight filtered into the room. They were on the second floor, so they could see the top of Tooth's head as she knelt over the fallen sprite.

"Are you alright?" North's deep voice called down.

"Fine," called back Jack's slightly higher one.

"He is _not_ fine!" They heard Tooth squeal. "He hit that window head first!" She appeared to be trying to shove her hands in Jack's mouth. "More importantly, face first! More importantly, mouth first! Now open UP!" The trio upstairs exchanged looks, then decided without speaking to head down to help the unfortunate boy.

oOo

When they got to where the two were, Tooth had succeeded in wrenching open Jack's mouth. She was currently in the process of making sure each perfect tooth was present and undamaged. Bunny, North and Sandy came to a stop about three yards away.

Bunny sighed. "Your a strange one, ya know that? One a the strangest." Tooth, satisfied with her inspection, wiped her fingers on her fluorescent legs.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who spends all of his time with walking eggs." She folded her arms. "Everything's all right now, in case you wanted to know. His teeth are fine."

"That's definitely what we were worried about." Muttered Bunny. "His teeth."

North stroked his beard. "Would have been convenient if he had lost tooth, da? Like you say, Tooth. They hold memories." He raised his finger, a sudden idea lighting his eyes from within. "I know! I'll knock one or two out for him. Memory problem solved." Toothiana looked like she didn't know whether to hit the man, or faint.

"If you touch his teeth, North...I'll...I'll" she trailed off, seeming to be thinking hard. A smile slowly turned her lips upward, an excited light growing in her eyes. "I'll... Oh, North!" She flew in a tight circle around him, gripping his shoulders and kissing his cheek when she appeared on the other side of him. "His teeth!" Not able to contain herself, she flit to Jack and almost knocked him back down with her hug.

"I have teeth." Jack said, working to regain his balance.

"Yes, and they're gorgeous! But I mean you're baby teeth. Jack, teeth hold memories. That's why the teeth are so important. Your baby teeth hold your memories from when you were human! You told us about it once. They're what helped you during the battle with pitch."

"So you're thinking that if I see those..."

"It might trigger total recall!"

"Even if it doesn't, half of what ya lost, ya could get back." That was Bunny, the infectious excitement pushing all thought of leaving his friend in the dark to the back if his mind.

"Yes!" North shouted, crossing over to Jack and Tooth. He picked Jack up in his left arm, Tooth in his right. "To sleigh! Right now! Let's go get your memories!"

**Drop me review if you liked it! Or if you have suggestions. I LOVE suggestions! XD**


	5. To the Tooth Palace

The sleigh ride was the best thing Jack had ever experienced. Now, that wasn't saying much considering he could only remember three days of experiences, but the fact remained. He had found with Tooth not long ago that he had a love for flying, but that revelation had ended with him crashing into a window. He had apologized to North about that, and the man had replied with a deep Russian laugh and a joke about having frosted glass now.

At the moment, though, Jack did not have to worry about crashing into any windows. He perched on the back of the sleigh, letting the wind whip his hair. Letting himself become engrossed in the sight of the world below him getting yanked away like some kind of never-ending patchwork quilt. He shot a quick look to his companions in the sleigh. North and Sandy, of course, were enjoying the whole thing enormously. Tooth was sitting comfortably in the back seat below him, a tight wound spring of energy. He assumed that this was due to the fact that they were on their way to a chance at regaining his memories rather than the exhilaration of the ride. She was capable of independent flight of her own, after all. Bunny had blanched at the word sleigh back at the pole, and immovably refused to climb in, dropping himself instead into some kind of hole that had appeared out of nowhere.

Jack wondered how close to all of these new people he had been. They almost seemed as excited as he was that he might regain what he had lost. That would only be natural, though. He reasoned. I would be missing three hundred years of memories with them. His pale fingers gripped his staff a little tighter at this. Although he didn't know all of them very well yet, he liked them. The whole group had a distinctive family vibe to it. Jack definitely didn't have a problem with that. He didn't know why, but the things they did for him gave him a warm feeling inside. When Tooth hugged him. When North showed concern for him, or for that matter, when Bunny tried not to. When Sandy smiled gently at him, like he would accept him regardless of anything he'd ever done. He didn't know which urge was stronger. His need to get his old memories back, or his want to make new ones as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the earth below Jack morphed drastically. The ground was traded for a rippling stream of lighted colors. Jack gave a yell, wondering what was happening. Before he could panic, however, it was over. They were now above a different, but thankfully normal, landscape. He turned to the others, questions in his eyes. Tooth say the movement, and the confusion, and giggled a bit.

"I keep forgetting that normal stuff like that is new to you again." she explained. "That was just a portal. North smashes something called a transport globe to create one. We were halfway around the world from the Tooth palace a second ago, but now we'll be there in a couple more minutes. Look," he followed her slender finger with his eyes. A majestic, bright castle with seven towers was growing in front of them. It was floating on what appeared to be a cloud. "There it is now." she smiled up at him. "You ready?" she asked, a little quieter.

"I think so." he replied. "I don't really know what to expect. You guys will be there with me, right?"

"Of course we will. We won't be able to see your memories with you unless we're touching, but we'll be there."

"You said I told you about them once, right? What did I say?"

"Just that you had a sister that you loved very much and that you found your center, that is, what you protect in children, by helping her somehow." He could see a deep curiousness in her sparkling purple eyes.

"You want to know." it was a statement rather than a question. Tooth was taken aback.

"Jack, I… those memories are very personal. Yes, I want to know. But that's only because you are a precious friend of mine, and friends always want to learn new things about each other. I can access those memories without you because of who I am, but I would never ever do that. They're too special to you, and you're too special to me."

"Tooth, I don't mind." he couldn't explain why, but he had an inexplicable desire to let the guardians in on the encounter he was headed to. In a way, it was his want to reciprocate the familiarity they had shown him. He did, after all feel the natural possessiveness that came from them being his memories, his life that was so long ago. But he pushed it down. These people had obviously accepted him as part of their family. There was no way he would he repay them by being enigmatic. "I kind of want you all to see them with me."

"Jack," she said, her brows knitting together, "I don't think you quite understand. Anything could be in there. There might be a reason you didn't tell us about them in detail."

"Or maybe the reason the Man in the Moon hasn't let me have my memories back yet is because he wants me to learn now to trust you guys. From what you've told me, he is the one that orchestrates most things concerning the guardians, right?"

"Yes, but... Are you sure? What if you regret this?"

"What you see in those memories... Will it change the way you think about me?"

"Of course not!"

"Then I don't see how there could be anything to regret. Unless the others think differently."

"They don't. Trust me."

"Even the big bad Bunny Wabbit?" Tooth laughed, though she would usually admonish him for talk like that.

"Yes. Even Bunny." The sleigh was touching down on the tooth palace now, and flocks of little fairies were gathering to greet their mother. She instructed one to retrieve Jack's teeth as she climbed out of her seat after him. It didn't take any of them long to spot Bunny, who was leaning against a wall with his arms folded.

"Took ya all long enough ta get here." He commented.

"We all know you haven't been here for longer than couple of seconds." North said as he walked over to give Bunny's head a vigorous rub.

"No way! My tunnels got me here faster than that reindeer powered death trap, and you know it."

"I know you'll keep telling yourself that. Because one has to have dreams, da?"

"Yeah, yeah, can it." He snapped as he turned to Tooth. "Now. Where can we get those memories from? And how how do they work?"

"Oh, I've had them for a while. We've just been watching you boys argue."

Bunny coughed to hide his sheepishness. "Uh, sorry. Lets get down to it, yeah?"

"Please." Said Tooth. "Let's. Jack says that he wants all of us to participate in this, so here's how it's gonna work." She held the gold cylinder out to the boy beside her. "When your ready, just put your finger here." She pointed, then motioned for the others to gather. "With your other hand, hold mine. I'll hold Sandy's, and Sandy...?" Sandy nodded, grabbing both her hand and Bunny's paw. Bunny extended his other paw to North, then at Tooth's lead, the all folded to the floor. "Now sweet tooth, remember," she continued. "If at any time you want is to stop watching, just let go of our hands. We can't see if we don't have skin to skin contact."

"Okay." He replied. He took one last look at the faces around him, lay the memory case on the ground in front of him, then pressed his fingers to it gently.

**A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long to update, and its so short. I was going to put the next chapter together with this one, but I decided it would just be too long. I kind if want to go in depth with his memories, so be excited for that!**

**Also, on an unrelated note, you guys have no idea how happy your comments and reviews make me! Every time I see them I just jump around and flail happily. I also got a review in French the other day! I had no idea people in other countries were reading this! So I had a French friend help me translate it and write this.**

**To Delph1762: Je vous remerci beaucoup pour votre commentaire! J'apprecie votre commentair et vos traduction xD**

**thanks for being so awesome! All of you! Love, mariah.**


	6. Memories

**"Come on, just jump. I'll catch you."**

**"No! It's too high! And I'm too heavy."**

**"No you're not. Besides, how else are you gonna get down?" A fifteen year old Jack looked up at his small sister, arms outstretched. She had all four limbs clamped tightly around the tree branch she was clinging to. Jack could see bright red scratches etching themselves on her unprotected skin. Her skirt did something to protect her legs, but her arms were vulnerable. He had to get her down. She was hurting herself. "You're only up a foot or so taller than me."**

**"But you're tall!"**

**"For my age, maybe. Definitely not for a tree."**

**"No! I'll fall and break my thigh bone, just like Jonathan Hanson. He said it hurt so bad he wished he were dead, and he's a boy!" Jack realized this tactic wasn't working. He retracted his arms, folding them.**

**"Fine, fine. But if you-" he cut off abruptly, his eyes yanked to a spot on the underside of the tree. "Whoa." He breathed. "That's huge..."**

**"What?" Asked Pippa fearfully. Jack glanced back at her nervously.**

**"Nothing! I'll just... Move it. Or blow on it. Or something." He brought his attention back to the tree.**

**"What is it?" Pippa craned her neck around, trying to see underneath her.**

**"That is the biggest spider I have ever seen..." Her brother said quietly. His eyes then widened in horror. "Oh, no no no no! Don't crawl on her hand! Pippa-"**

**An ears-splitting scream cut him off and Pippa flailed wildly to get away from this, apparently, monstrous spider and lost her precarious grip on the branch. Jack held out his arms, stepped forward slightly, and caught her easily. She looked up at him in surprise, hair disheveled, full of twigs and leaves. He smiled down at her.**

**"Told ya I'd catch you." Pippa's eyes widened, then her eyebrows pulled together in anger.**

**"Jackson Overland Frost, there was no spider, was there!" She slapped his chest and wiggled away from him. He set her down, laughing loudly.**

**"But I got you down from the tree, didn't I?"**

**"You're the meanest ever! I could have died!"**

**"I would never have let you hit the ground."**

oOo

Present day Jack gripped Tooth's hand a little tighter. He knew her! Every word she spoke, very movement she made was instantly familiar to him. While reliving the memory, information was issuing into his mind. Words, so new, yet his mind was absolutely accustomed to._ Burgess. Pippa. Overland_. The only thing anchoring him to reality was the feel of Tooth's hand in his own. If he didn't focus on it, he was sucked into this dream world so completely, so entirely that he could feel his little sisters weight in his arms. Memories flooded from every side, all at once. He was caught up in another as he tried to focus.

oOo

**"Mom!" Pippa yelled, running to her mother who was making her way home just up the road. "Jack put my bed on the roof!" Mrs. Frost froze mid-step, giving her daughter her full, wide-eyed attention.**

**"What?"**

**"My bed is on the roof!" Pippa repeated, gesturing wildly in the general direction. Her mother shifted her gaze compliantly to the house they were heading towards. She burst out laughing as she saw the her daughter's simple, four posted bed completely constructed on top of their humble, flat topped home.**

**"It's not funny!" Pippa said in displeasure, though couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping as she realized their absurd situation in its entirety. Her mother laughed heartily until they reached the door of their home, where she stopped to compose herself a bit. She smoothed back her hair, straightened her face, and went in with Pippa at her heels.**

**"Jackson Frost, why is your sister's bed on the roof?" Jack froze as the door to the living room swung open. He had a piece of bread halfway in his mouth and he looked at his mother with innocent eyes. Well, comparatively innocent, anyway.**

**"I have no idea what you are talking about." His words were garbled around the bread, but neither of his family members doubted their interpretation.**

**"Don't lie, Jack! Who else could have done it?" Pippa was trying to maintain her anger, but her fun loving brother was not making it easy for her. He winked at her good naturedly, so she stuck her tongue out at him.**

**"Are you telling me that Pippa's sleeping quarters have somehow mysteriously relocated to the roof of our home?" His face was a perfect picture of quiet disbelief. Too perfect.**

**"I don't know about mysteriously, but your sisters bed is on the roof. And I am very interested in the story of how it got there." His mother folded her arms. Jack scrutinized her carefully. Yes, she appeared stern, but he could see the glint in her eye that meant she was trying not to smile.**

**"How odd!" He ran outside to confirm their words. "Golly, would you look at that!" He said, staring up at the roof. He had to shade his eyes against the warm summer sun. "My sisters place of rest is indeed atop our modest abode!"**

**"Cut the fancy talk." Said Pippa, though she wasn't even trying to keep her giggles in check at this point.**

**"It is 'atop our modest abode'. Any idea how it got there, Jackson?" Their mother seemed more curious than angry. This new antic was relatively harmless, so she was ready to just laugh at it. She had to play something of a mother role first, though.**

**"Destiny, probably." He concluded with a shrug. "It was obviously divine intervention from the heavens!"**

**"What exactly was intervened?" His mother asked. Pippa mumbled the word to herself quietly, never having heard it before.**

**"Our princess has never seen a shooting star before. So I put ...I mean, the heavens... put her bed on the roof so she could see one tonight."**

**"You want me to let your sister sleep alone on the roof so she can see a star?"**

**"I'll be with her, naturally. Yes."**

**"Then why aren't there two beds on the roof?"**

**"Uhh... It took the heavens quite a while to figure out how to put one bed back together, let alone two."**

**Pippa had stopped listening at 'sleep on the roof'. "We're gonna sleep underneath the stars? Together?" She squealed, running to him in excitement. "No way! That's amazing!" She hugged him around the waist. He laughed and patted her head. An unspoken moment of communication passed between mother and son.**

**_You'll be safe? And warm?_**

**_Yup. And I'll take the bed down right the next morning._**

**_Fine..._**

**Jack smiled broadly. "Get your wish ready, princess." He told Pippa, disengaging himself gently. "Chores, pack food and extra blankets, then to the roof!"**

oOo

_He must have loved his sister very much,_ thought Tooth as the last memory came to a close. _I'll have to ask Jack later if they ever saw a shooting star._

While Jack saw the memories and gaps were filled in instantaneously, the others could only see the memories he was focusing on. So they would really only get a small taste of his memories, while Jack, after this, would have them all.

Sandy was smiling to himself as he watched the siblings hug through his minds eye. He could tell with that special sense of his even through a memory that the small girl had been having nightmares recently. He wondered if anyone besides Jack and he would ever know the true kindness behind the gesture he had given his sister that night. It had been impossible for her to have a nightmare while wrapped safely in her brothers arms, surrounded by the beauty of he night. He was yanked from his own thoughts, though, as another memory began.

oOo

**The smell of animal was strong in his nostrils. He gripped the neck of the cow he was clinging to even more tightly.**

**"Jackson Frost, you get off of that cow right now!" His mother was bright red with anger. "And if you put one more dab of purple paint on her, I'll throw your sled in the river! You know I will, too."**

**"I'll never let you sell Buttercup!" he yelled back.**

**"Buh-da cup stay." Repeated a two year old Pippa as she tugged on her mother's skirt. "Jack and Buh-da cup my fav-o-wit."**

oOo

North laughed out loud as he watched the youngest version of Jack they'd seen yet straddle the purple-splattered cow. At first, the cow had tried to run, but it couldn't very well escape from its own back. Paint the cow so no one will want to buy it. He shook his head affectionately. Only Jack would come up with such a plan.

Bunny was chuckling, also amused at Jack's ridiculous scheme. Even though the Jack in this memory was quite a bit younger than the Jack sitting nearby, he could still picture the Jack of today coming up with and executing a hair brained idea like that perfectly. _Some things never change, do they Frostbite. Not even after three hundred odd years. _He refocused when he saw a new memory beginning.

oOo

**"It's okay. It's okay. Don't look down, just... Look at me."**

**"Jack... I'm scared." Wide eyes shot from the traitorous ice to Jack and back again.**

**"I know... I know." he needed to keep her from panicking. "But you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in," he soothed in a calming voice. "Uhhh, we're gonna have a little fun instead!' He continued. Cracks were spiking out in the ice around them like lightning, ominous groans accompanying each new bolt.**

**"No we're not!"she nearly sobbed.**

**"Would I trick you?" he asked, trying to distract her. The words sounded ridiculous the moment they left his mouth. Pippa wasted no time in calling him on it, either.**

**"Yes! You always play tricks!" Jack gave an explosive, nervous chuckle. He couldn't exactly deny it.**

**"Alright, alright." he admitted. He needed to think of some way to calm her down and get her away from the dangerous ice that surrounded them both. "Well, n-not... not this time. I promise." He met her gaze steadily, reassuring her with his eyes. "I promise. You're gonna be... You're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me." Pippa gave a breath, returning his eye contact. She was trying so hard to be strong. He could feel it the moment she completely placed her trust in him, relied on him completely. It terrified him.**

**"You wanna play a game?" He asked, desperation choking his thoughts. He lit on something they'd done just yesterday, while waiting for their mother in front of the local shop. Hopscotch. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play every day. It's as easy as one..." He took a step, wincing as the ice groaned in protest. He wobbled on one foot, terror clenching his heart. He knew Pippa was watching, and he didn't need her panicking again. "Whoa!" He yelled comically. Pippa giggled, thinking he was joking. "Two..." He took another step, then hopped on to the safe ice. "Three!" He said triumphantly. He looked back at his sister, still in danger. "Now it's your turn."**

**Pippa nodded. "One..." He coaxed. She took a small, slippery step. She gasped, looking back up at her brother frantically when the ice cracked further. "That's it, that's it..." He soothed, reaching behind him to grab a nearby stick. "Two..." She gasped again with another small step. "Three!" He yelled, hooking the staff around her and hurling her to safety, by the bank. They smiled at each other for a moment, hardly believing their luck, when the ice gave one last heart breaking crack and caved.**

oOo

Present day jack realized what was happening, and let go of Tooth's hand as if she had burned him. He knew where this was going. He wasn't going to let the others experience death with him. The others were plunged harshly back into reality.

"Jack!" She cried, jumping up. "No!" She shook his shoulder, than yanked his hand off the golden cylinder. His eyes flew open. She pulled him close. "You don't have to experience that." She sobbed, voice hitching with emotion, "not again."

He gently pushed her back. "I'm fine." He told her. He looked behind her, at the other guardians. They had all risen and were standing around him in concern. They all had a look of deep shock in their face. _I did this_. He realized. _I almost forced them to live my death. They must have been so scared. I know because I was_. He averted his eyes.

"Look, I just... I need some time alone." He stood with his staff in hand. He glanced at the crook in the top, could almost picture his little sisters small body in it, being thrown to the side of the lake. A_t least I did _something_ right. _Before any of them could say a word of protest, he launched into the air. Headed for burgess.

oOo

"Should we go after him?" Wondered North.

"No." Tooth replied. "If he needs time alone, that's understandable. I believe in him. He'll come back."

oOo

Jack was in Burgess an hour later. He didn't have a transport globe, but the winds were faster than he expected. He figured he could have made the trip even faster if he had more practice at flying. But right now, he was staring at the lake. The same lake from his memory. Also where he had woken up. He sat at the trunk of a large tree, beginning to sort out his thoughts. This was a lot to absorb. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get the absorption time he was looking for in coming here. His eyes drooped, and he fought to keep then open. He hadn't felt tired a moment ago, but now, leaning against this convenient tree and surrounded by snow, he drifted off. It was only minutes before he was twitching in the grips of an unseen nightmare.

Pitch peeled himself away from the shadow of a nearby tree, stroking the name of a nightmare. He clicked his tongue, summoning a second dark stallion. Pitch walked over to the sleeping teen and picked up his staff. He twirled it around his long fingers as he spoke.

"I want you to take Jack home with you." The stallion obediently grabbed the boy with his teeth and raced away. Pitch turned to the second nightmare. "And you," he continued. The staff stopped its revolutions around his hand, ending pointed at the horse. "I have something for you to deliver. Do not let yourself be seen. Jack is going to leave a note for the guardians. We wouldn't want them... Worrying." Pitch's cold, sharp smile grew more pronounced as dark tendrils of sand creeped up Jack's staff. He gave it a wave and ice shot from the tip. His new technique was flawless. He'd always wanted to use this staff. And now he could.

**A/N: And there you have it! One long chapter to make up for last times short one. Yay! A cliffhanger too! Don't I just make your guys' lives exciting!? Also, heart ell me what you guys think of the new memories. Qwerty124 suggested that I add new memories, and hey, when the people speak, the people speak. Thanks you guys!**

**love, mariah**


	7. Decisions

Two days later, Tooth was in the main room, cleaning teeth when the three guardians arrived. She always did that when she had a lot on her mind. It was easy, relaxing, and didn't take a lot of thought to accomplish. She set down the tooth brush and sparkling lateral incisor when Sandy, Tooth and Bunny stepped into the room. They had dispersed not long after Jack left, promising to contact one another if they got word from him.

"You've heard from Jack so soon?" She asked, wanting to be excited, but wary of their expressionless faces. "He's okay, right?"

"Tooth," North began. This ees quite shocking news. Please try to stay calm, but Jack-"

"Don't drag out the suspense like ya did with me. It's cruel." Bunny interrupted. "He thinks its funny to make us all suffer. We got a letter from Jack. It was on his bed in the workshop." He handed over a piece of folded paper while North humphed, his attention stolen. Tooth took it quickly. The others watched her growing smile as she read the contents.

**Dear everyone,**

** Sorry for all the trouble I caused, and thanks for taking care of me while I was sick. You were right about me getting total recall. I remember everything. I still feel like being alone. I know I'm being pretty angsty, but I don't know how to associate with people real well anymore. I spent too long alone for that. Give me some time. I'll come back when I'm ready, whenever that is.**

**Thanks for understanding,**

**Jack.**

"Thats fantastic! He has his memories back!" Squealed Tooth. In her excitement, she squeezed the paper until it crumpled.

"Yeah, it's a good thing." Said Bunny in a monotone. Tooth rubbed the paper over her knee in an attempt to get the crinkles out.

"Aren't you happy for him?" She asked, a little confused at his lack of emotion.

"Course I am. I just... What's he need ta be alone for? If there's somethin' wrong, doesn't he know he can talk to us?" Bunny had indifference written all over his furry face, but his ears betrayed his otherwise perfect performance. They drooped unhappily, showing the true pain he felt at Jack's apparent lack of trust.

"Come to think, Jack did not sound like usual self in letter, da?" Asked North, rubbing his jaw with one of his large hands. "Perhaps he feels we think less of him, after seeing memories."

"But that's ridiculous! He's a hero now, in my mind." Tooth seemed shocked that this would even cross anyone's mind.

"Well, we know Frostbite ain't exactly the brightest." Bunny folded his arms. "If he's off somewhere sulkin' over somethin' like that, I'll rip him a new one."

"Then maybe he is in need of friend. Now more than ever." North placed his fuzzy black hat back on his head.

"I think I'm gonna go look for him. The only problem is, I'm not sure where." Sandy made his way to Bunny. The moon appeared over his head, then houses, then a lake. Bunny snapped.

"Burgess! You're a genius my friend." Sandy shrugged modestly. "Alright, I'm gonna head ta Burgess. I'll let you guys know when I find him, and if he's feelin' okay." He thumped a rabbit hole into existence but before he could drop down it, Tooth spoke.

"He might not appreciate you finding him. He might just want some quiet time to think." He waved her warning away easily. "He's had two days ta think. Sometimes ya just gotta buck up and deal with the people that care about ya." He smiled, gave a small salute, then disappeared.

oOo

Jack was having a nightmare. This nightmare consisted of memories. Ever since he had regained his human memories, others had drizzled in. He had remembered how to get to Burgess, and he remembered... A little boy? He wasn't sure who. It was like trying to see through muddy water. But it was bits and pieces of those memories that tormented him now, while he slept.

Some of the horrors that he witnessed were real, he could tell. They had the clarity that only comes from being lived through. Others, he couldn't be sure about. Everything was garbled together and hazy, half images that flitted through his mind then disappeared, leaving only their sense of terror behind.

_ He was in a town, greeting people and smiling brightly as they passed. All was normal until a child ran straight through him as he bent down to speak to him. A cold feeling spread through him, clenching his heart. He gasped in shock. The scene changed._

_ Dark tendrils reached for him. He yelled, turning to run, only to be cut off and dragged into a forest of dead trees. They loomed eerily above him, then grew faces. Horrible grinding voices laughed at him as he screamed, helpless. Everything shifted._

_ Sandy was floating in the air, fending off a torrent of what appeared to be dark sand horses. He jerked to a stop, then a turned. A wicked black arrow, sharp as sin, protruded from his back. Ripples, then a new setting._

_ He was in a crowd of people. He looked down at himself to realize that there was a bright crimson stain seeping into his hoodie. He clutched his stomach, looking around to the bustling square of people. Surely someone would see him. He yelled, reaching for someone, anyone. They passed him, not sparing so much as a glance. From one blink to the next, his surroundings altered. _

_ A man stood with his back to him. He was cloaked completely in black, with slicked back hair. He melted into the shadows, then appeared next to him. Jack jumped, looking into the mans face_-

"Hello Jack." Blue eyes flew open at the words. All traces of the nightmare dissolved, leaving only their sticky residue of cold sweat and fear. "Are you all right?" the silky voice continued. Jack tried to find the owner, but his eyes wouldn't focus. "You looked like you were having a nightmare, so I woke you."

Jack got a handle on the hazy world. He sat up, leaning heavily on his elbows. He spotted a tall, thin man standing near the door of the room. "Where am I?" he asked wearily. He was tired of waking up in places he had no idea how he got to.

"Welcome to my home, Jack." said the man. "I'm sorry to have moved you without asking permission, but you were in danger."

"Danger?' dark eyebrows pulled together. "The last thing I remember is falling asleep near a tree…"

"Yes. There were wolves. I fended them off and brought you here for the time being. I realize that was quite… forthright of me, but I decided that you'd prefer that to being eaten."

"Probably. Thanks, I guess." The man gave a Jack a penetrating stare. It was making him quite uncomfortable.

"You really don't remember me, Jack?" he asked. He had a pained expression.

"Oh. Sorry did I know you too? My memories are starting to come back, but they're very hazy. You do look familiar…"

"I hope so! We've only known each other for two hundred eighteen years." This brought Jack up short.

"What?"

"I can't believe you'd forget such a close friend. I was the one that was there for you when all of the other immortals abandoned you. I was the one that was there when even the Man in the Moon left you on your own."

"But I thought that for those three hundred years I was with the other guardians."

"Is that what they told you?" The man pinched the bridge of his nose. "How despicable. They never cared about you like I did. They only grew friendly with you once they realized that you had so much power."

"Really?" Jack asked. He was a little skeptical. The guardians hadn't seemed like those kinds of people to him. "Who exactly are you again?"

"My name is Pitch Black. You and I have been together since nearly the beginning." Jack tried his hardest to pull his memories out, but the more Pitch spoke, the more he found it difficult to focus on them. He could only remember emotions. Happiness, fear… loneliness. There was an awful lot of that. That fit what Pitch was telling him.

"The guardians may seem kind, but they're only doing for their own benefit. They don't want either of us to be believed in."

"Are you a guardian?" Jack asked.

"No. And neither are you."

"I thought I was the guardian of fun. That's what-"

"They told you. I think it might be easier to assume that all they did was lie to you. I'm sorry, Jack. If we were guardians, I would be darkness, and you would be cold. Hardly glamorous."

"This is a lot to take in..." Jack was ready to slump back onto the bed. He was almost reluctant to go to sleep. Every time he woke up, everything changed. He also feared the nightmares would return.

"I understand. I'll let you go back to sleep. Try to remember me, hmm? You really are like a brother to me."

"I'll see what I can do." Jack muttered. He let himself fall back into the grey sheets. He only heard the click of a door closing before he fell into oblivion.

Outside the door, Pitch was instructing another nightmare.

"Help him to sleep." He commanded it. "Give him a lovely nightmare. If he starts remembering anything, alter it. I have faith in you, pet." He gave its mane one last stroke, then let it slip into the room with the sleeping boy. He laughed as he walked away. People were so vulnerable when they slept. Getting Jack Frost on his side was almost going to be too easy.

**A/N: Chapter seven! I had to rewrite it three times to get it right... Darn me and my nitpicking. This one isn't my favorite, but I'm excited for the next chapter. I've been dying to include Jamie! Thanks for all of your patience and support! **

**Oh, and unrelated. If you guys liked the memories from last chapter, check out my series of one shots. I mostly write them when I have writers block for this, which is sadly often, but they're fun. It's called Did You Know. Even if you don't read it, drop me some ideas for one shots you'd like to see, and I'll do what I can. **

**Love, Mariah.**


	8. Progressions and problems

In Burgess, Jamie Bennett was also having a nightmare. It was one of the worst he could imagine. His friend, his brother, his guardian was being kidnapped. He watched as Jack settled down near a tree, fell asleep, then didn't wake as he was dragged away by a onyx nightmare. Pitch, who Jamie had given little thought to over the last few months, stood by. Pitch chuckled darkly, showing his pointed teeth, then reached for Jamie menacingly. Jamie tried to scream, to run, to do anything, but the nightmare continued.

oOo

Bunnymund was having quite the time. He had searched around the lake for two hours or so, then tried the surrounding forest. By the time he had abandoned that area, it was well into the night. He decided that he would check around Jamie's house, which seemed to be another frequent haunt of Jack's. If the sprite wasn't there, Bunny would have to accept that against high odds, Jack had found somewhere else to rest.

He jumped silently out of his rabbit hole, into Jamie's bedroom. The young boy was asleep, as where most children at this late hour of the night. A quick glance around the room told him he was alone with the child. He hopped to the window, peeking out into the night. He was about to climb to the roof when a sudden yelp from behind him nearly stopped his heart completely. He spun around to find Jamie sitting bolt upright in bed, breathing hard. He turned on the lamp near his desk, and Bunny could see the sweat glistening on his forehead, clumping his hair together in a messy disarray. He noticed Bunny, made to scream, then strangled the cry within his throat when he recognized who he was with.

"Easter Bunny!" He cried, tears welling in his young eyes. Bunny hopped closer, concerned.

"What's on ya, mate?" He asked. "Did ya have a nightmare? Are ya all right?"

"Jack's not all right! You have to help him! We have to find him!" The boy was nearing hysterics. Bunny hopped to the bed, then sat down. He wasn't fond of emotional displays, but he could tell the boy needed some serious comforting.

"Look, everythin's okay." He placed one paw around Jamie's small shoulders, then ruffled his hair with the other. "It was a nightmare." He then turned to the important question. "How did ya know Jack was missin'? Did he come ta see ya? Is he still around?" Jamie's eyes only grew wider and more frantic.

"So Jack really is gone! Then it's true! The boogey man has Jack! The nightmare I saw told me!"

"It was just a bad dream. Trust me, Jack is just flyin' around like the show pony he is. Pitch hasn't kidnapped anybody."

"It was a bad dream! That's how I know. Listen."

_Caleb, Claude, Jamie and Cupcake were sitting on a bench at the park, eating ice cream. The battle with Pitch had only ended a few days ago. Jamie had a question for the others._

_ "Hey, you guys said that back when Pitch had almost defeated the guardians, you had nightmares, right? So does that mean that those creepy black horses were in our rooms?"_

_ "Probably." Said Cupcake, shivering. "Those were the worst nightmares I ever had. Sometimes they were normal, like being chased by a monster or something, you know? But sometimes they were worse. I had one where the tooth fairy had lots of little tooth fairies... And I was eating them. I didn't want to!" She added in a hurry at her friends horrified faces. "And they were alive inside me. Somehow. It was the worst."_

_ "I had one like that too." Said Claude. "Only, I was fighting the Sandman. I didn't want to either, but I couldn't control myself. He fought with me, too, and then... And then he got shot with an arrow."_

_ "But... From what the guardians have told us, all of those really happened. How did we have dreams about them?" Asked Caleb, giving his lemon ice cream a lick before it could drip onto his hand. _

_ "What if..." Jamie thought he knew, but it sounded ridiculous. "What if when the nightmares came to give us... Well, nightmares," he took a bite of his sherbet popsicle, then continued. "They gave us the nightmares of their memories?"_

_ "That would make sense." Agreed Claude easily, surprising Jamie._

_ "But its still horrible." Said Cupcake. "I never want to be inside one of those horrible creatures minds ever again."_

"See?" Asked Jamie after his recap. "If Jack is missing in real life, the nightmare I saw was true! We have to save Jack! What if Pitch wants revenge on him? What do we do?!"

"Listen," said Bunny. "I know how upset ya are. And if that's the case, the memories of that nightmare might be what ya saw. But ya don't need ta worry. We have a letter from Jack. He just went off for a little alone time. I'm only lookin' for him 'cause we don't know exactly where."

Jamie took a moment to process this new information. "Is it in Jack's handwriting?" He asked eventually.

"I... I dunno." Admitted Bunny. "I'm not all that familiar with his handwriting."

"Then how can you be sure it's from Jack?" Bunny's mind was processing things at hundreds of miles an hour. _Thanks for taking care of me while I was sick_, the letter had said. Jack hadn't been sick, he had been injured. "_Come to think, he did not sound like usual self in letter, da?_" North's voice resounded in his memories. The were small evidences. Maybe Jamie's suggestion was just making him paranoid. It might be worth it to compare handwriting, though. Just to be perfectly sure.

"Okay, I understand what you're sayin'. I'll figure it out, and if anyone needs Savin', you can count on me. Is that fit with ya?" Jamie began to calm slightly for the first time at his words.

"Kay." He replied. He felt better, having relayed his urgent message. "Thanks for being here. I don't know how we would have saved Jack if I couldn't have contacted any of you."

"Don't you worry. We'll always be around when ya need us most. Now get yourself back ta sleep, all right?"

"Yeah." The word turned into a yawn as the boy lowered himself back into his bed. He closed his eyes. Bunny stayed for a few moments, to make sure there were no lingering nightmares, then disappeared down a new hole.

oOo

Bunny was inspecting the tag of some wrapping paper carefully. He knew Jack had helped North with inventory a couple of months back, and it was a simple matter to ask the yetis which ones Jack had entered. They were the only ones crossed out multiple times, and sometimes spelled wrong. He had borrowed 'Jack's' letter from North, then brought the two papers side by side. It was easy to see the difference. The curve of the e's, the length of the stick on the p's and r's... There was no way these were written by the same person. Bunny stood, turned and made for the door, only to have it fly open and almost hit him as someone threw it in from the other side. It was North.

"I was cleaning out Jack's temporary room, and... Well, look." He opened his hand to show the black sand that glittered in his palm. "It was under bed, in corners... I know it was not there before we left for Tooth Palace with Jack. How did it get there?" His distressed face only put Bunny more on edge.

"I think I know exactly how." Said Bunny darkly. "Round up Sandy 'n Tooth, then get ready. This is a doozy, but I'm reasonably confident it ain't too impossible. I think Pitch has done somethin' ta Jack."

oOo

Jack was still asleep. He twitched from the horrible dreams that permeated his mind, memories twisting and looming frighteningly. His memories were coming back, but in the wrong order. Slowly, but without doubt, Jack was beginning to question his opinion of the guardians. Had they really cared about him? They had wanted to get his memories back... But maybe that was just because he couldn't use his powers as well without them.

In his mind, the memories were true to a point, than warped drastically.

_ He was in an alleyway, talking to Bunny. Then, why he recognized as the yetis from santa's workshop dumped him into a bag. He tumbled around for a while, then landed painfully at the bottom of a ravine. The middle of the memory was a little fuzzy, but then he was alone, only a tiny fairy and a broken staff to comfort him._

He rolled over in his sleep, a soft moan escaping him. Had the guardians done that to him? He didn't know, he didn't want to believe it.

_Sandy lashes out at him with a whip of sand. Why were they fighting? A haze took things again, then he slammed into a wall, falling into a garbage can. The others ran over to him, calling his name. They sounded concerned, but he was growing more confident that they only wanted to to hurt him._

The nightmare continued its grim work on the vulnerable teen. Interchanging it's own memories with his, patching and piecing things together like some patchwork quilt of horror. Jack grew more and more uncertain about what little he had thought he knew while the guardians met and painstakingly pieced the chain of events together.

When they landed on the true chain of events, and were reasonably confident in their deduction, they would thank the Man in the Moon for letting them find things out quickly. They did not know that at this point, no amount of fast moving would stop the things set in motion within Jack's mind. They would agree with vehemence later that no memories were better than the corrupt replacements growing now.

**A/N: So there's the next chapter! Things are about to take a turn for the somewhat dramatic, so I'm really fired up. The next section could be split into two short chapter, or one very long chapter. I don't really mind either way, so let me know what you guys want. I'm so excited! Its about to reach its climax! Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews, By the way. Your suggestions and comments make my life as an author happy:)**

**Love, Mariah**.


	9. To Be Needed

The first thing Jack heard when he woke was arguing. He recognized the voices. He swung his legs out of bed, rubbing a hand first across his eyes, then his hair. He went over to the door of his room to press an ear against it. What were the guardians doing here?

Half an hour before, the guardians stood at the entrance to Pitch's lair.

_"Do we just barge through the front door?" Bunny asked, one eyebrow raised._

_"How sure are you that Jack ees down there?" North returned. "Ninety-nine point six percent."_

_"Then there ees point four percent chance that I'll let Pitch have one more minute alone with Jack." He concluded, then before any of them could stop him to explain the benefit of surprise, he was dropping himself down the large hole._

"We don't care why ya want Jack. Honestly, it's irrelevant, 'cause Frostbite's not the kind of person to hang around you willingly, anyway."

"Maybe. I have to say though. He doesn't seem all that keen in being with you four either." The voice he now knew as Pitch's seemed utterly indifferent. Jack didn't know how to feel. A part of him hoped that the guardians had come out of concern for him when he didn't return, but another insisted he needed to be wary of them.

The voices were very soft, and he was straining to hear the next words. He gently nudged the door open, being careful not to let it creak. He slipped into the hallway, then around a stone corner. They were much more easily heard now. He could tell they were just in the room adjacent. He hugged the wall, desperate not to let himself, or his shadow be seen.

"We did not come to fight. We came to retrieve Jack. Tell us where he ees so we can leave."

"Why do you want him back?" Asked Pitch scathingly. "Why is it that recently you all seem so interested in poor Jack? Maybe he liked his life the way it was before. I know I did. He never got in the way." In the hallway, Jack's brow ridged over. From what Pitch had told him before, they had been very close. Friendly. How had he gotten in the way? He felt his fingernails dig into his hands when he concluded that Pitch was not telling him the whole truth either. Who had lied about what? What if he couldn't trust any of them? He decided to withhold what judgement he could for now.

"It shouldn't matter to you." That was Tooth. "We may have defeated you in the last battle, but we're not stupid enough to believe we can destroy fear completely. We do know that we are strong enough to keep you in check."

"You mean because you had Jack? He is very powerful. I have a feeling that none of us know the true extent of his powers. Which is why he belongs with me."

"We won't let you use Jack for your own benefit!"

"Isn't that what you're doing? Your benefit just happens to be different than mine."

"Jack doesn't belong to-" there was a bam that drew all of their attentions to the door into the hallway. Jack was standing just over the threshold, having thrown the door open.

"Frostbite!" Yelled Bunny. "I knew ya were here! Are ya okay?"

"Where is my staff." He asked Pitch in a monotone. He completely ignored Bunny. Tooth flew to him hesitantly. He refused to look at her. He couldn't believe he'd been so thoroughly tricked by her caring friend act. When she went to touch his shoulder, he shook her off harshly. He could feel his anger rising, and all he wanted to do was get out of there. But he needed his staff. He advanced on Pitch.

"My staff." He repeated. "Give it to me." Pitch made no movement.

"Your staff was gone when I found you." Jack had learned better than to take things at face value. An icy wind ruffled his hair.

"You have ten seconds." He stated, still not looking at any of the guardians.

"Jack," said North tentatively. "What ees wrong? We came for you. Are you-"

"Don't talk to me!" Jack shouted, finally rounding on the group. "I trusted you! All of you! And the only thing you wanted was me to help you in some kind of... Battle! I'm not an object. Now, give. Me. My. _Staff!" _The wind escalated. Something fell off of the desk in the corner and shattered, but Jack didn't see what. What he was focused on was the momentary ruffle of Pitch's cloak. It had blown back slightly, and he had seen a scrap of something brown.

"What are you talkin' about, snowflake?" Bunny asked after he had collected his thoughts. "If this is because of somethin' Pitch told ya-" Jack advanced on Pitch, walking past Bunny without even a glance. Pitch involuntarily rocked back a step, slightly unnerved by the look in Jack's eyes. Pale blue daggers shot him through in fury. He was only distracted for a split second, but that was all Jack needed to throw back Pitch's cloak and tear the staff from the pocket that had obviously been hand sewed in. Pitch took a grab at it, but Jack swatted him away.

He turned to throw a parting glare and phrase at the gaping guardians. His intense emotion threw them. They could see tears gathering in the bottoms of his eyes. "I don't care what you wanted to use me for." he took a half-step towards them, clenching his staff tighter. "I have pride."

"Sweet tooth-" tooth tried to coax, but with one wave of his staff, Jack shot out of the room. They all stared at the place he had been for an eternal moment, then North whipped to face Pitch.

"What did you tell him." The soft inquiry slightly disturbed the others. His voice was usually so loud and full of enthusiasm that this quiet question was infinitely more dangerous. It distracted Pitch into letting Sandy flip him painfully to the floor.

"I don't care! Aww, stuff it." Bunny punched the wall next to him. "I'm goin' after him, or well never find him again. You have fun here with that... Thing." He jabbed a paw in Pitch's direction, then bounded out the door Jack had taken. He almost slammed into the wall with his speed, but continued sprinting.

oOo

Jack let the tears fall freely now. He was away from people, in the place he felt safest. He wasn't entirely sure what part of the world he was in, but he didn't care. Now that he felt safer, alone in a snow drift, he didn't really mind crying. He curled tighter into himself as he realized that he really was alone. He looked blankly out at the landscape in front of him. All white, full of swirling flurries. It was numbingly beautiful. Nothing interrupted its perfect horizon line, and he felt each snowflake that fell as a witness to his pain. They comforted him slightly.

He thought back to how comforting the guardians presence had been to him when he first woke up. He had been confused. Alone. Just a little scared. But he had felt so much better with their easy company around, chuckling at their friendly banter. He had loved knowing that somehow, he was a part of it. Could join them at any time. That he had a belonging.

Another few tears fell in quick succession when he remembered that all of that had been merely an illusion. He'd heard it himself. When they came to retrieve him from Pitch, it had only been because they wanted him on their side. He looked at the staff that lay beside him. A sob escaped him and in one sudden movement, he picked it up then threw it as hard as he could into the blurry, snowed over distance. What power had they been talking about? He could fly, sure. He could Frost things over. But those were hardly battle techniques. Whatever it was, he didn't want to know. He just wanted to be alone. That seemed the best for everyone anyway.

Jack reached up and covered his eyes with his hands. He was so deep in a rut of depression that when Bunny hopped out of a rabbit hole a couple yards away, he didn't even notice. The pooka took in his new surroundings carefully, passing over Jack twice before he registered the boy. He was completely covered in snow, easily mistaken for a part of the tundra. Bunny paused for a moment, wondering how to approach the winter sprite. He was most likely a ball of misled, pent up anger at this point. Bunny eventually went with his instinct: simply hop over.

Jack heard the crunches of footsteps. At first he had assumed he had been mishearing; there was no one out here but him. Then he took a tentative glance up. He was met with the sight of two, grey, fur covered legs. He nearly fell over in outraged shock. Why was Bunny in his sanctuary?

"Ya done bein' dramatic? Or am I gonna have ta force ya ta let me explain things."

"There's nothing you can say that I want to hear!" He informed the rabbit. He looked frantically for his staff. _Stupid!_ He chastised himself. He needed something to protect himself with. He remembered his dream, felt again the large furry hands shove him in a bag; then the next thing he remembered was being alone and in pain. He knew Bunny wasn't above using violence.

"Are ya sure about that?" Bunny asked, folding his arms with a smirk. "Cause ya seem ta be confused about some things."

"If you're just going to feed me more lies, please leave."

"Now who lied to ya?"

"You! Everyone! I don't know! Just leave, okay? I don't want to help you or fight for you, so you have nothing to gain by being here. I like being left alone."

"It sounds like I'm the one bein' lied to, if ya ask me. Ya didn't act that ways coupla days ago."

"That was before I knew you didn't actually like me. Before I remembered everything."

"Ya can't possibly remember. If ya did, I wouldn't hafta straighten out all this tangled wire Pitch turned your brain into."

"Stop it! I don't know who told me the truth about what! So I'll just stay by myself. That's much easier than dealing with any of you."

"Frostbite, listen to me for a second." Bunny stretched out a hand to shake Jack's shoulder, but pulled it back in alarm when the teen flinched away from him intensely. It was almost like Jack thought he was going to... Hurt him. "What?" He asked. Jack had never done this before. He remembered arm wrestles, hair ruffles, high fives, and even a round of tackle football on a bet. But this... trepidation, this wariness had never been there before. "You're not... Ya can't be be afraid of me."

"I'm not scared of you!" Jack said immediately. Bunny was not convinced. The statement sounded more like a child's declaration to a bully than anything else. He looked at his paw, then the distance Jack had put between it and his shoulder.

"Why?" Asked Bunny, disbelief quieting the words. "What have I ever done to ya ta make ya afraid of me? We fought a lot, yeah, but... look at me!" The last command was given as Jack dropped his gaze. "We're friends! Frostbite, all of us were friends' a family! Why are ya actin' this way all of the sudden?"

"A family?" Jacks head snapped up, his eyes raging blue fire. "Friends? That's convenient for you, isn't it!" His voice rose, and anger seeped out of his very countenance. "You're just trying to make the most of my memory loss. But here's something I bet you didn't know." He gave a short laugh, a sound more infused with pain than anger. "I've been getting my memories back. Slowly. And guess what? I remember enough. Enough to know that there is no reason I should trust you! You've hurt me, then lied to me about it! So will you just leave. Me. _Alone_!" With every syllable, the wind around them increased.

Flying skeet whipped into Bunny's face, forcing his eyes closed. Hail was beginning to fall, and Bunny felt truly in danger. If those lumps got any bigger, they could seriously injure both of them. He needed to calm Jack down.

"Let me talk to ya!" He roared, desperate to be heard over the wind. The snow only increased in response. Bunny pushed his way forward, the wind beating against him ferociously. He could barely see anything now, but he knew Jack was there. Bunny's fur was coated in cold white fluff, and his fingers and toes were so cold they burned. He ignored it.

Another Herculean effort, one more step. He could see a blurry outline. He reached for it, yanking it as hard as he could into the fur of his chest. Jack fought him. Bunny felt a punch land just underneath his ribs. Smallish hands pushed with surprising strength on his torso, his arms, anything to get away. Bunny refused to let go.

"There's somethin' I gotta tell ya!" He insisted steadfastly. "Ya can kick 'n punch 'n throw a fit all ya like, just listen to me for a sec." The wind around him calmed slightly. Jack made likewise, settling to only a weak effort every few seconds.

"Let me go."

"No. I won't let ya run off again. Pitch has obviously messed ya up real bad, so I'm gonna tell ya exactly how things were. Ya don't have ta believe me, but I swear I'm not lyin' to ya. "We never got along perfectly, but after really meetin' ya about a year ago, really gettin' ta know ya, I grew ta like ya. We all did. We regret leavin' ya alone for so long. Not only 'cause it was wrong, but also 'cause we missed out on so many years of havin' ya around. To be our friend. A brother. A teammate. We love ya, Jack, memories or no, what do I gotta do ta prove it?" By the end, Bunny's voice was trembling almost as hard as his body. Jack was completely still in his freezing arms. After a second, he felt the boy shift.

"You're really not lying? Pitch was? Pitch is... the bad guy here?" One arm twitched, seeming to want to move.

"I promise ya with everythin' I have." Jack's arm rose and wrapped lightly around Bunny's body. Bunny realized that the boy needed some encouragement, so pulled him in a little tighter. As Jack wrapped his arms securely around the pooka, the snow all but died. Bunny's breath blew the boys hair askew, and now that things were calmer, he could feel the boys sobs hitching in his chest. The tears that dripped into his fur turned to icicles almost instantaneously.

All four of his paws burned with icy fire, and he was in serious need of a drink. But he didn't move. As much as it tore him up to see Jack so distressed and in pain, it felt good to be needed. To know he was doing something for his friend. And he didn't care what he had to endure to prove that that was a constant fact. He would stay there until he was so frozen he couldn't move, all Jack had to do was keep holding him like this. And he was fine with that. He was unshakably confident that he always would be.

**A/N: ...yeah. So I'm back! No, no, no, wait! before you start throwing things, I have a reason for not posting in so long. I've been working on (wait for it...) my Toothiana cosplay! tada! Yeah, I know. Not really acceptable. But I hope the chapter makes up for it. I was going for lots of fluff here, so it made ME happy. **

**And to answer a question I got, I'm not really sure how much longer this is going to be. There should be one more twist. Or plot device. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WRITERS BLOCK. So please don't take me too seriously. XD **

**However, I do feel that it is somewhat headed to a close. So tell me now if there's something you guys want incorporated! Thank you so much for your patience and comments. They absolutely make my day, without fail.**

**Love, Mariah.**


	10. A New Tactic

Pitch was not done yet. He watched North and Sandy walk away from his vantage point on the floor. He considered setting a nightmare at them while they had their backs to him, then decided against it. He would let them think they won this round. He began to climb painfully to his feet.

oOo

"What did you tell Jack?" North demanded. After the echoes of Bunnymund's bounding footsteps had faded away. Tooth had also zipped out of the room, leaving the three alone together. "What was he talking about?" Sandy bound him tightly with golden ropes.

The sand constrains tightened around Pitch's torso. He felt his ribs press towards each other. He took a shuddering breath. "I was actually quite nice to him." He answered with a flippant smirk. A nightmare sliced through the sand binding him, and he stumbled away from them.

"I like to laugh." Said the Russian man, the statement nearly comical in comparison with his intimidating expression. "But unfortunately for you, your pain ees more funny to me than your jokes. Sandy?" At the command, the vice-like tendrils began to grow thorns, then whipped towards him again. Pitch gasped as one ripped the cloth of his left pant leg then dug with a cruel harshness into his gray skin. He danced further away. "I may have helped him remember some things." he offered. The golden wires lay in wait, but Pitch caught them from behind. A dark stallion reared, its powerful hoofs catching North in the shoulder. The big man lurched forward, then Sandy engulfed the nightmare in gold. The evil disappeared from it easily. A bead of sweat that had been growing on Pitch's brow slipped down his temple.

"Helped him remember." mused North around a gasp. "Elaborate," he said slowly. Pitch glanced at Sandy, wondering how far he could push the fence with this one. The small man had a truly fearsome look on his face. But taking his attention away from North had been a mistake. He yelled as two swords leaped towards his head. They hovered in perilous proximity to his ashen face. He stared down their silvery sharp lengths in shock.

"In a new light!" Pitch added frantically. A gasp broke his next sentence. "I may have helped him... remember in a new light." Inwardly, his mind raced. There had to be a way he could turn this to his favor. He was giving them too much truth. Then, a dark sliver of an idea wedged itself into his mind as he caught sight of the ebony globe in the center of the room.

"What do you mean by 'new light'?" Asked North. Neither the piercing blue eyes or the deadly swords wavered an inch.

"Look, there's really no need for this." He negotiated. Sandy was having none of it. A rope from behind him grabbed him, then slammed him into the wall behind him. He fell forward, all of the air whooshing from his body. "Aaah!" He moaned. "I think you broke my ribs!"

North glanced at Sandy. This was almost seeming too easy. They had expected much more of a fight. Sandy shrugged, watching the dark man on the floor. Both were wary as they eyed the writhing figure.

"What did Jack mean by 'You just wanted to use me?'" North barked, deciding to make the most of the unexpected weakness. He was ready for Pitch to leap at him, order an onslaught of nightmares to attack, to put into play whatever trick he was trying to implement. He was disappointed. Pitch shakily rose to all fours, then collapsed. He moaned as he hit the floor.

"I told him that you were enemies trying to make the most of his memory loss to get his power on your side." Pitch rolled onto his side, looking up at the two guardians. He wondered briefly where Tooth had gone, then put it out of his mind. It wasn't immediately important.

"So Jack believes that we lied to him?" asked North, understanding widening his eyes. Outrage quickly narrowed them again. "What else did you tell him?"

"I told him that we were friends; that I was the one that understood him best."

"Why?"

"The same reason as last time!"

"Last time?"

"Time may have passed since our last battle, but that hardly means that I've given up. Maybe you forgot about me in that time. It would be an easy thing for you to do, seeing as how you're so busy being believed in. Does it even bother you that this is how Jack felt for those three hundred years? Always trying something new to be seen… to be noticed. Always failing. I thought that since I did understand him best, once he gave me a chance with a fresh view he would be all too willing to join my side of the battle."

"Obviously, you thought wrong. Jack ees much stronger person than you. Tell us where he ees now." North was slowly letting his guard down. Pitch didn't seem to be posing any kind of threat at the moment.

"That I actually don't know. Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, I just have one more question for you then." Pitch nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation, but stopped himself at the last moment. Couldn't they just leave already? The were taking so long with their little interrogation that he had nearly finished planning out his next move. it had been an interesting idea from the start, but now he was darkly eager to put it into play. "Why did Jack believe you? You must have done something else to him in order to change his memories. What was it?"

Pitch paused for a fraction of a second. He wasn't sure he was willing to give up that particular secret just yet. He decided on an alternate answer. "I saw that he was starting to remember some things. While they were still hazy, I told him what I wanted him to think he remembered. It worked surprisingly well."

"We will leave now." Said North. "You are weaker specimen than even I guessed. If you follow us, it ees likely you suffer some more, da?" Sandy nodded. He didn't want to hurt Pitch when he appeared so defenseless, but battle was another matter entirely. The two turned to leave. Pitch showed his teeth to their backs in some strange combination of a smile, and a threat.

oOo

Tooth had left the room minutes after Bunny. She also wanted to find Jack. She looked down at her small hand as she skimmed the surface of a cloud in her flight. It had hurt when Jack shook her off. She didn't know why he had changed so drastically in the time they had been apart, but she knew it had something to do with Pitch. She blinked a tear out of the corner of her eye, then shook her head to clear it a little. Jack was more important. Find him, then worry about Pitch.

At the moment, she was swooping towards Burgess. She didn't know where Bunny had decided to look first, but thought it a good idea to check anyway. Bunny could have missed something, or maybe he hadn't come here at all. Whatever the reason, she felt Burgess was a reasonable place for Jack to be.

First the lake, she thought, then Jamie's house. She quickly rescinded the last thought as she remembered that Jack would have no reason to go to Jamie's. Tooth was largely skeptical after Jack's display a while ago that he actually had his memories back.

She touched down lightly on the bank of the semi frozen water. She would find Jack. She would not let him be alone anymore.

Hours later, twilight streaked through the snowy leaves of the forest. The dying drops of sun glanced off the icy sparkles, refracting the light onto the world in melancholy shades of gray and blue. Tooth leaned against a tree. She knew she was spending to much time here. If she wanted to find Jack, she knew she should have spent an hour here, tops. She just couldn't help being fascinated with her surroundings.

She knew this was the lake where Jack spent his last moments. She had a feeling that he would be here. He had always had an attachment to this lake, only now she knew why. She ruffled her feathers, then smoothed them back down. Did she want to find Jack or not?

As she flew over the quickly darkening town, she spotted Jamie Bennett's house. She hadn't meant to come this way. She stopped moving forward, hovering in the air. The little house below her glowed from the light within. She began a descent, heading towards the upstairs left side window.

Jamie was getting ready for bed. He was already in his pajamas, and had a toothbrush in his mouth. He dug around in his backpack, getting things ready for school the next day, Tooth guessed. She knocked on the window. Jamie jumped, then ran to the window. Tooth gave a little wave.

"Tooth Fairy?" He asked in confusion. His face lit up. "Oh! The Easter Bunny must have talked to you! Did you find Jack? Did Pitch do anything to him?" He opened the window so she could enter.

"Well..." She began reluctantly. Why had she come here? She guessed she had hoped Jamie would know something she didn't. "He's not hurt." Physically, that she could see. "And he's not with Pitch anymore. You helped us so much. We found him because of you."

Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad he's okay."

"We are too." Tooth agreed. She glanced at the toothbrush in his hand, then couldn't refrain from asking.

"You brushed for two minutes? Have you flossed already? You're planning on flossing, right?"

Jamie became aware once more of the toothbrush in his hand. "Oh! Yup. I flossed first. See? All clean." He opened wide for her. Tooth smiled as she inspected his pearly whites.

"Good job." She praised. "But its time for you to get to bed, isn't it? I shouldn't have come so late."

"No, no! It's okay! I'm not even tired. I'd rather keep talking to you than go to sleep."

"I know. But sleep is really important. You need your rest. Sandy would definitely tell you the same thing."

"Probably. But-"

"No buts! Hop in bed, mister."

"Okay." He mumbled in defeat. He trudged over to the door, locked it, then moped his way into bed. Tooth stared at the locked door handle, curious.

"Do you always lock your door before bed?" She inquired. She knew some people were more fond of privacy than others, but had always thought of locking your door while you slept as a very teenager thing to do.

"Yeah." He said, flushing a little. "I have to. I sleep walk sometimes, and if I don't lock my door, I'll go out and fall down the stairs. That's where I got this scar from, see?" He pulled up his right sleeve to reveal a faint x-shaped scar on his elbow.

"Oh, my. I'm sorry." She wondered if she had embarrassed him. It was nothing to be self conscious about, but he seemed a little sheepish.

"S'okay." He replied. He tried not to yawn. Tooth saw his struggle, smiling tenderly at his typical childlike behavior.

"I'll go now. Have good dreams, okay?"

"I'll try." He said, lowering himself to his pillows. He shut off his bedside lamp as she gently closed the window behind her. She hadn't gotten closer to finding Jack, but it had done her good to spend some time with the child. He was so sweet.

Jamie was asleep within minutes of the windows soft click shut. He did not even stir as a dark figure poured from the shadows. A gray hand traced the air around his sleeping face.

_A sleep walker, huh? _Came the dark thought. As Pitch reveled in his good fortune, he couldn't help letting two words escape. Two of his favorite, words in fact.

_"Pavor Nocturnus_."

**A/N: So, How many of you know what pavor nocturnus is? (without googling it!) I had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times, and a completely new twist came to me somewhere in the middle of the second time through. I was really excited for a minute, then realized this meant fixing over half of the chapter _again_. I died a little inside at this revelation, but I feel it was worth it. XD**

**Comments, concerns, or stories from those of you that are sleepwalkers, I want to hear it all! Thanks for sticking with me, you guys. Your comments, follows and support are what motivate me to keep writing. I love you all!**

**One more thing. EASTER is coming up real soon, so how would you feel about interrupting the story for an Easter special? I have a short story collection for stuff like this, but if you guys want it posted here too, I'll share the love. Let me know in a review, majority rules. **

**Love, Mariah.**


	11. EASTER ONE SHOT

**We interrupt your usually broadcasted fanfiction for an extra special Easter one shot! Sorry to those that didn't want it, but two people wanted it, and one didn't. So here we have it. If you're disappointed, I'm very sorry (not really). I will try to update our usual story as quickly as possible for all of you lovely people.**

**3...2...1... Enjoy**!

oOo

Jack curled his fingers around his staff, the worn wood a comforting weight in his hands. He sat on Jamie's roof, having told the boy goodnight just an hour or so ago. After his mother had tucked him in, he had sat right back up in bed to talk to Jack, bouncing from the excitement.

"Easter is in just two days!" He had whispered. He kept quiet, but his eyes shone in that special way only a happy child's could. "I'm going to an Easter egg hunt, and grandma's, and tomorrow we're going to dye eggs, and...and... Candy!" He threw up his hands, unable to contain himself. He glanced at the door sheepishly when he realized how loud his last word had been. "it's gonna be so fun!" He concluded with a grin.

"Is Easter your favorite holiday?" Jack asked. He had known Jamie for nearly a year now, though didn't remember him getting this excited over a holiday before. Christmas had been the big one he remembered, counting down the days and whatnot, but Jamie had been talking about Easter for at least a month. As the event grew closer, he only grew more anticipant.

"Well, I dunno if its my favorite..." Said Jamie thoughtfully. "On the candy level, I like Easter, Halloween and Valentines day. It's hard not to say Christmas because of all the presents and snow, though. I really love all the holidays, I guess. But this Easter is special!"

"Why's that?"

"Why don't you come visit on Easter and I'll show you?"

"I'll see what I can do." Jack smiled. "You're not going to be busy all day with friends and family and stuff?"

"Nah. I always have time for you. Besides, except for everyone who helped us fight Pitch last year, a lot of my friends are boring now. They think Easter last year proves that none of you guys exist." His eyes dropped to his blanket enveloped legs. "If it weren't for you, I might be one of them. That's a really scary thought, huh?"

"Yeah." Jack was finding it slightly hard to answer. There were children who didn't believe anymore because of last Easter. Because of him. He knew that none of the guardians held it against him anymore, not even Bunny. But he couldn't help but feel that his mess up last year hadn't been quite atoned for yet. He just wished there was something he could do.

Jack was so thoroughly wrapped in his thoughts that when Jamie had continued to talk to him about Easter, school the next day, and his favorite chocolate. But Jack had been distant, not quite as responsive as usual. Eventually he had bid the younger boy good night, seeing his frequent yawns. He then relocated to the roof.

Now, far deeper into the night, a smooth breeze gently ruffled his hair. He sat above Jamie's window, completely absorbed in his thoughts. he wasn't exactly sure how Tooth did it, but he knew that after the incident with Pitch she had sent the children their memories of times that the guardians had come through for them. Most of the children began to believe again because of this, but Jack knew that Pitch's effect had not been completely erased.

A pale hand dragged through soft hair, disheveling it slightly. Jack had given Pitch the opportunity to create such damage.

Now, Jack wasn't usually one to crucify himself for past mistakes. He found it took too much energy to remain gloomy for long period of time. Normally by now he would have decided not to worry about something he couldn't change. If only there wasn't a reminder in Bunny.

Bunny did not mention that Easter. Not once after it had happened. But Jack could see the toll it had taken on him. All of the guardians had regained a substantial amount of their energy and power after the children in burgess had started to believe again. Even more so as Tooth helped the children remember precious times when they had believed. However, there was one guardian who hadn't ever fully recovered.

Bunnymund could still throw a boomerang with deadly accuracy. He was tall, intimidating and could move at fantastic speeds. But no matter how hard Bunny insisted he was fine, or tried to hide his exhaustion, everyone could tell.

He got tired much more quickly than usual. His tunnels occasionally popped out in the wrong places, and it was obvious that most of the time he was distracted. Bunnymund was not usually an unfocused person. Every time Jack noticed one of these new handicaps in his friend, he felt a twinge of responsibility. It was obvious that many children began to believe again, but enough had not that it was affecting his teammate.

Jack let out a huff, his breath visible in the chilly night air. He stood, then stretched, not unlike a cat. He leaned on his staff for a moment. He hated feeling guilty. It wasn't fun at all. So, standing on Jamie's roof right then and there, he decided to do something to make it up to Bunny. Then he could feel better.

Besides, Bunny wasn't so out of sorts that he couldn't have fun. Just the other day he had held Jack upside down by an ankle until he had unfrozen the colored pond. When he complied, the elves that had been ice skating there promptly fell in. Jack had escaped while Bunny laughed at them.

Present day Jack let out a small chuckle of his own. Yes, he would do something to appease his guilt. But by the Man in the Moon, there was no way he was letting Easter pass without giving Bunny something to laugh at. Even if it might take the pooka a few days to see the humor.

Jack lifted off the roof and into the night as he flipped through ideas for both plans of action. He would come up with something for sure.

oOo

Jack flew as quickly as he could. _Easter is in just two days_ Jamie had said. That meant in the next time zone, Easter morning was already dawning, albeit still in the small hours of the day. He had decided that he'd had time to put together the guardian's Easter presents before he left, so he was pressed for time now. He fingered the foil wrapped objects in his hoodie pocket. By the time he reached that end of the earth, the sun would be coming up.

Jack had decided that the best way to apologize for something was to simply make it right again. So, as the children woke up and went about their Easter activities, Jack would boost the surety of any doubting child he saw.

He realized that this plan was flawed. He couldn't possibly fix every child who had stopped believing by visiting them individually. it just wasn't realistic. But Jack was sure that he could at least make some worthwhile improvements on a trip like this. Plus, he hadn't had a lot of time to think. If he was going to do anything truly helpful, Easter was the best time to do it.

A few hours later, he descended on the first town. He thought about the best way to accomplish as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. He landed on it. He waved his staff, conjuring some previously nonexistent dark spots in the clouds above. He repeated the gesture. They grew heavier. Finally, a light powder of snow fell on the morning town.

He made it snow a good two or three inches, then settled in to wait. Just as he expected, as soon as the children woke up to see the snow, they scrambled to get out and play with it.

They came two or three at a time, some toting new Easter Presents to play with. When Jack decided there were enough children, he straightened up. He touched his staff to the ground. A small lump formed. He nudged with the crook. At the attention, it shivered,shaking the snow off of itself. A small, powdery bunny sat there twitching it's nose. Jack smiled. He ran on, creating dozens more. They varied in size, some were as small as a baseball others as large as a small horse. He smiled at them, then lifted off. In the streets below him, they ran to follow.

After a short time, the children noticed the parade of snow animals. They watched in awe, yelling excitedly to one another. Jack stopped at the first park he came to. The children had followed, so Jack sent one snow rabbit right up to a blond little girl in the front. It sat up on its hind legs to offer her an icy carrot. She reached down to take it, barely having time to read the inscription on its side before both rabbit and carrot puffed into snowfall. The Easter Bunny, it had said.

"It's the Easter Bunny!" She squealed, turning to a girl next to her. "Emily, I told you! I told you, I told you, I told you! He is so real!"

"Yeah." Breathed the shorter girl. Her green eyes sparkled as she took in the display in front of her. "Maybe you were right." Jack smiled as he watched the scene. In his mind, he could almost see the new light flickering into existence on North's globe.

Jack left the town, knowing he hadn't done much, but that he needed to move on if he wanted to do more. He continued this game, putting together fantastic displays, smiling on delight as he saw them inspire the children. But as he persevered, he failed to notice some vital things. Such as the sun, climbing ever higher in the sky. Also, what part of the world he was in. He spent his energy largely on flying and creating snowstorms. He was tired, but there was no way he was stopping now.

It was nearly high noon. Jack wiped a drop of sweat off of his brow. He frowned at the moisture on his fingers. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd sweat. He shrugged as he flicked it off his hand. It was probably good for him to sweat every once in a while. It meant he was working hard. He rose into the air, ready to move on to the next place. Unexpectedly, though, the world dipped and swooped, disorienting him. A head rush threw off his flight, and he crashed back down the unforgiving ground.

Jack sat up, trying to hold his head on his shoulders. It felt like it would roll away of he didn't. He tried to think, to reason out why this was happening to him. He was so confused.

And thirsty. Now that he thought about it, he was hot and thirsty. A thought jolted through him. He did some quick calculations. Well, as quick as his steamy mind would let him. It must be around noon. And with all he had flown in the direction he had taken, he couldn't be anywhere but Africa. He had somehow ended up on one of the hottest continents in Earth, during the hottest time of the day.

_Stupid_, he scolded himself harshly, _what a stupid thing to do_. Yes he had been focused, but that was no excuse. He dragged himself over to the nearest tree, which wasn't saying much. plus, when he finally got to it, he realized that though large, it was sparse. It offered only minimal protection from the sun he could now feel acutely, pounding on his already, surely, sunburned skin,

He would just rest here for a moment. He would have the strength to fly somewhere with a colder climate soon.

oOo

Bunnymund had finished delivering his Easter goods. Eggs were hidden, baskets were left, and he was feeling great. He pulled a furry arm behind him, stretching. As his back cracked pleasantly, he realized that though he was exhausted, he some how felt better than he had in weeks. Months even. He smiled to himself. _Must be more kids wakin' up to find Easter presents and believin' in me_, he thought in satisfaction.

The only places to go now were the Tooth Palace, the pole, then somehow track down Sandy and Jack. Bunny thumped a rabbit hole underneath him._ Four more baskets to deliver, then home to take a well deserved kip,_ he told himself happily.

At the Tooth Palace, a hole appeared in the floor. Bunny hopped out of it eagerly. When he entered, Bunny went straight to Tooth's personal office. He knocked, but earned no reply. He frowned at the door. Maybe she was out in the palace somewhere. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. It was a tiny fairy passing by, carting a large armful of teeth in its short arms. Bunny held a paw up in its line of flight. She bumped into it. The little fairy shook herself off, then glared at Bunny.

"Do ya know where Tooth is? I need ta see her." The little Fairy stopped glaring, then nodded a couple of times. she flew a few feet away, then looked to make sure Bunny was following her. She squeaked at him.

"All right, all right." He followed her into another room where a large map was hanging. There were lots of markings on it, but Bunny could clearly see she was pointing at the North Pole.

"She's at the Pole? Why?" He asked. The fairy thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah... Ya know, I think I'll head there 'n ask her myself. I need ta go ta the Pole. But thanks, mate." She nodded, squeaking what he assumed to be a you're welcome as she flew away. Bunny took one last look around, then dropped into another hole.

oOo

"How long was I out?" Asked Jack, wiping a hand over his eyes.

"Two or three hours, more or less." Answered Tooth. Jack had woken up twenty or so minutes ago, but Tooth had just come in to check on him and change his ice packs. She had greeted him excitedly, more than a little relieved that he had woken up so quickly. She had went to get him a glass of cold water upon seeing him awake, then returned with that, Sandy, and North.

"One of Tooth's Fairies found you nearly unconscious in Nigeria. She came to me, and I brought you here with transport globe. It ees lucky for you that she was quick thinker."

"Yeah." Agreed the winter sprite. "What day is it? Is Easter over?"

"Yes... It ended today. It's about nine in the evening right now." Tooth looked at him curiously. "Jack, what were you doing in Nigeria? That's a pretty warm country, even during their winter."

"Frostbite was hangin' out in Nigeria?" Came a voice from the doorway behind them. Tooth, North and Sandy turned to face the speaker. Bunny hopped into the room.

"Yup." Replied Jack, apparently unfazed by Bunny's sudden appearance.

"What were ya doin' there?" Bunny asked.

"Meh. Nothin' much. Just chilled."

"You did not." Interrupted North. "You did opposite of 'chill'." He said sternly.

"In fact, he did the opposite of chill so well that he got a severe case of heat stroke." Added Tooth. Bunny gaped for a moment. He hoped closer, then folded his arms.

"Well that was a dumb thing ta do." Bunny said dangerously. "Why were ya out there, Frostbite. And what were ya doin'? Ya don't get heat stroke from just flying over on your way somewhere."

Jack smiled. Nice observation. Definitely not one someone would make if they were easily distracted. "I told you." He informed them all. "I wasn't there for any particular reason. I just didn't realize how hot it had gotten, and I lost track of time. It was stupid of me, I know. But I'm fine now, really."

"Sure ya are." Bunny continued to glare. Jack could tell he wasn't going to let it go. he tried to change the subject.

"I made it storm in a couple of places. How did that make you feel?" He asked. The easiest way to distract Bunny was to rile him up. Bunny snorted.

"If ya were tryin' ta make me mad, ya woulda had ta try harder. I didn't even notice."

"but I made it snow everywhere I went!" Exclaimed Jack.

"Even Nigeria?" the question was sarcastic, but Bunny soon realized a correlation. "That definitely woulda tired ya out." Bunny began to glare again. "Frostbite, why were ya tryin' ta make it snow in Nigeria? That sounds dumb even ta me."

Jack tried to come up with an answer. He hadn't expected Bunny to put two and two together like that.

"Does it have anything to do with the snow bunnies my fairies saw all the children making in that part of the world?" Contributed Tooth. She was catching on too. Sandy helped with a sand child sleeping, dreaming of snowflakes and Bunnies. Jack dropped his head. They weren't supposed to find out about this. Things were about to get embarrassing.

"And just today," North said, "Phil told me that lights on the globe had been going on all day." All of the Guardians looked at him, no longer fooled. Not that they really ever had been. No one had been "chilling" in Nigeria.

"You're right. What you did _was_ stupid. What happens to a snowflake in heat? Even I know that, Ice Pop. And for what? This is 'cause of last Easter isn't it? Ya know no one blamed ya, right?" Bunny was not happy.

"Yeah, yeah. I am an idiot. A simpleton. A complete ninny. But most importantly, you feel better, right? More believed in?" Now that the cat was out of the bag, Jack candidly asked his main concern.

"I was fine! Ya didn't have ta worry about me or do anythin'!"

"But you feel better?" Blue eyes tried to hide their concern. Bunny slumped, deciding to accept the teens concern.

"Yeah. Better than I have in months, actually." he recalled his stern glare. "But next time, talk ta us ya drongo! 'ts not fair ta make us worry about ya when ya pull some drop kick stunt like this."

"Yeah. Whatever you say, Flopsy." Jack smiled. "Oh, and I just remembered. I have something for you all." Bunny decided to let it go. He was happy that Jack cared so much about him. At the moment, he would just be glad that his friend was all right.

Jack reached into his hoodie pocket, pulling out four brightly colored, foil-wrapped eggs. He handed one to each of the guardians. Bunny snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah!" He exclaimed as he took Jacks present. "I have something for all of ya too." He thumped his foot. A rabbit hole appeared, but instead of disappearing down it, he moved to allow some googies to file into the room. They brought four small Easter baskets with them.

"Thank ya for this Jack." The pooka looked at his friend, holding up the chocolate egg. "I don't usually get something for Easter. I appreciate it."

Jack smiled as he went through the Easter basket given to him. It had a new hoodie and quite a bit of candy. "And thank you." He replied. "I love it." he popped a chocolate peanut butter egg in his mouth. "Go ahead." He added, gesturing at the egg Bunny held. "Don't be shy, tell me what you think."

Bunny opened it, smiling at the teen. Personally, he liked white chocolate more than milk chocolate, but he wasn't about to complain. The egg was pretty big, so Bunny took a bite rather than eat it whole. Jack watched him eagerly.

Bunny almost immediately started spitting it out. Jack burst out laughing. Bunny wiped his tongue furiously, looking at the egg he'd bit into. He understood now. There was a chocolate covering, but inside there was a ring of white and a ball of yellow. It was a chocolate egg. A chocolate covered, hard boiled egg. Bunny looked up at Jack, glaring.

Jack was completely silent as he shook with laughter. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath only to continue laughing again. The other guardians tried to hold in their chuckles, but Bunny noticed them looking skeptically at their own eggs. He shook his head. How typical.

"What ees in mine?" Asked North, wiping an amused tear from his eye.

"Why don't you take a bite and find out?" Challenged Jack.

"Maybe." He answered. "Might not be safe, though, da?"

"Almost definitely not."

"Well, Jack, you certainly do keep things exciting. This Easter has been... Special." Said Tooth with a smile. Jack's face fell, the color dropping from it.

_But this Easter is special!_ Jamie's voice resounded in his mind.

"Snap!" Cursed Jack as he swung his legs out of bed. "I'm going to Jamie's." he informed them. He grabbed his staff off the wall. A large hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up, meeting North's gaze.

"You are not going anywhere. What you need to do ees rest."

"I feel fine! Besides, I promised him I'd go!"

"Why? Ya gonna give 'im one a these things?" Bunny shook his bitten egg at Jack. "Poor kid."

"No! Look, I promised, okay? He's expecting me! It's so late, he probably thinks I've forgotten." Pleading eyes looked up at North. The big man felt his resolve shaking. But he couldn't let Jack fly there. The teen didn't have enough strength for that yet, no matter what he said.

"I'll take you in sleigh." He conceded. "But you cannot stay long. You need rest. And keeping Jamie up very late ees not good." Sandy nodded emphatically.

"That's fine!" Agreed Jack quickly.

"I'll come." Said Bunny. He was still a little tired, but he wouldn't mind seeing Jamie again. The small boy held a special place in his heart. "Mind ya, I'm takin' my tunnels."

"If all three of you are going, can I come?" Asked Tooth.

"Yeah." Said Jack excitedly. "Lets go!" Sandy raised his hands, and it was obvious he planned to come too. North led them to the sleigh.

oOo

Jamie lay in bed, trying not to let his disappointment keep him up. He had spent all day looking around, expecting Jack to fly up at any moment. As the day wore on, his expectations had slowly dwindled. Maybe Jack had decided to spend Easter with the Guardians. Or maybe he had just forgotten. It had been two days since Jamie had asked him to come. It was east to forget things in that amount of time.

He fingered the objects he'd layed on his nightstand. He had so been looking forward to seeing Jack's reaction to the presents he had gotten him and the rest of the guardians. Jamie wasn't exactly sure how to contact any of the other guardians, so he had planned on giving them all to Jack and letting him distribute them. He had been unbearably excited for Easter ever since he had realized that the holiday would commemorate exactly one year since he had met the guardians. Exactly one year since he had gained his best friend.

He sighed, closing his eyes. It didnt matter anyway. He could always give the gifts to Jack on another day. He would just have to look forward to whenever that would be. Jamie reached to turn off his lamp, but stopped when he heard a tap on the window. He froze, his heart climbing into his throat. When he turned around, there was Jack, smiling and pointing at the latch on his window. Jamie scrambled so fast to get out of bed that the blanket got tangled in his legs and he fell over onto the floor.

"Jack!" he cried as he picked himself up. "You came!" he promptly threw the window open, allowing the winter sprite entrance.

"Yup. I wouldn't forget about you. I just got... held up." Jack touched down lightly on the floor of his room. "You don't mind that I brought a few tag-a-longs, do you?" he asked with a mischievous grin. Jack already knew that the younger boy would be too excited for words.

"Tag-a-longs?" he asked in confusion. Then North shoved his way through the window. Sandy followed him in, then Tooth.

"Surprise! We came." said Tooth. Jamie smiled at her reference. She had said the same thing to him exactly one year and one day ago when he had seen all of them for the first time. He thought about how strange it was that not five minutes ago, he had felt like crying, and now he was so happy he could hardly contain himself.

"You're all here." he stated in absolute awe. "All of you, except the Easter Bunny."

"Nope. I'm here too, mate." Jamie whirled around, laughing in delighted shock when he saw Bunny leaning against a wall in the corner of his room. A large hole was closing up near his feet, and the rabbit smiled at him warmly.

"I figured you wouldn't mind _too_ terribly if I brought them along." said Jack, thoroughly enjoying the younger boys ecstasy. "So I'm here now. I've really been wondering, and you said you would tell me if I visited you on Easter. Why is this Easter special?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Jamie, his trance broken by Jacks words. "Because of these!" He ran around his bed to the small desk beside it, grabbing the items off of it in a rush. "They're for you! All of you! One year ago today, I met you guys. That was probably the best day of my whole life. So I got you guys these, to celebrate that, and also Easter." He started with Bunny, depositing an Easter egg in his hand.

There was a crudely drawn boomerang on one side, and little carrots in a border around the top. There were smaller , typical Easter eggs on the other side. North's had brightly colored boxes and simplistic elves. Tooth's had little toothbrushes, teeth, and taking up an entire side what was obviously a vampire. Sandy's was completely gold with sand, and Jack's was blue, white snowflakes covering the entire circumference.

Jamie watched their reactions nervously. He was pleased with what he saw. Sandy smiled at him tenderly. North and Bunny were doing their best not to be choked up, trying desperately to retain their male dignity. Tooth wasn't faring so well, a happy tear rolling down her cheek. Jack moved forward and ruffled Jamie's hair.

"I love it." he said softly. Jamie couldn't imagine any other words in the entire universe making him happier. "How did you get the snowflakes on there?" he asked. "They're really cool."

"Oh! It was way cool! You draw on it with a white crayon, and the dye doesn't go on it! It was way fun."

"I think you made them too absolutely adorable." said Tooth with a sniffle. "I Don't know if I'll ever be able to eat it."

"Oh yeah! Thats the cool part!" Jamie informed her. "I was talking to my friend Caleb's dad about how it was sad that you always had to eat the eggs, no matter how hard you worked on them. Then, a couple of days later, he told me he found out how you could keep them. You prick a hole in the top," he pointed to a tiny pinprick in the top of Jack's egg, "Then you blow all of the egg out of it. So you have to be more careful when you dye it, 'cause it's not hard boiled. Than in the bottom, you put a bigger hole and fill the egg with something called expanding foam. Its stuff that goes in houses! "

"Whoa." said Jack in admiration. "That sounds complicated."

"Yeah. We ruined two boxes of eggs before we could get the whole thing just right. But then we did, and now your eggs will last forever!" He smiled up at his friend.

"Good." Said Bunny firmly. "'cause I am definitely usin' this as a reference. Couldn't have done better myself, mate. 'n thats sayin' somethin'."

"This just might be best present I have ever received." Said North. He grabbed the boy in a large bear hug. Jamie's laugh was muffled from within the Russian man's chest.

"Definitely," Jack said. "The best Easter ever." Darkness was eating at the edges of his vision, and his consciousness was ebbing away, even while standing up. He barely had time to see Sandy come at him with golden helping hands before he passed out. Maybe North had been right about him not being fully recovered yet. The golden man carried him to the sleigh on the roof, winking at North as they disappeared. When Jamie reappeared from North's hug, Jack and Sandy were gone.

"Where did they go?" he asked incredulously. "They were here just a second ago!"

"Sandy says it ees time for bed." answered North. He put the smaller boy in bed, tucked him in firmly, then left himself.

"G'night. Sleep tight." Bunny gave a small salute before disappearing down one of his holes.

"Sleep well, sweet tooth." Tooth smiled, then also left. Jamie nodded. His smile continued, even after he'd fallen asleep.

**A/N: Whoa. This is without a doubt, the longest chapter I've ever written. There were so many elements that I wanted to include in this oneshot... I hope it didn't turn out messy. I hope you guys are happy with this! I certainly had fun writing it. I know I promised it on Easter... And well, it's not midnight yet! Hehehe. Happy Easter you guys! **

**Unrelated: I GOT RISE OF THE GUARDIANS FOR EASTER! I don't even know how to handle all of the excitement that dwells within me at this time. I hope you all had as great a day as me:)**

**Love, Mariah**.


	12. Pavor Nocturnas

Jack could not sleep. He rolled over, feeling the soft grass spring back up where he took his weight off of it. The warren was warm, but not uncomfortably so. He had definitely slept in worse places. Bunny snorted in his sleep, then kicked a leg. Jack smirked. At least he wasn't completely bored. Bunny was all the way across the colored pond, but Jack could still hear all of his sleeping noises.

The amused light faded from his eyes as thoughts with a more serious tone slunk into his mind. Bunny had spent hours telling Jack the details of his life with the guardians when they got to the warren. They had relocated from the frosty tundra when Jack realized that Bunny's fur was literally growing icicles. Tiny ones, though they were, he knew this couldn't be a healthy temperature for a rabbit to stay in for very long. Once Bunny had warmed up at the warren, he had began to talk to Jack. The more the rabbit explained, the more Jack could tell just how dedicated he was to getting his memories back.

Jack had listened attentively, asking questions here and there. He could now recite the chain of events of last year with near perfection, though he still remembered none of it in his own right. When Bunny had finally finished talking, he had looked at Jack in silence. The hopeful sparkle in his emerald eyes slowly dimmed, then snuffed out at Jack's response.

He hadn't said much.

It hadn't taken much.

"I'm sorry."

Bunny had punched Jack's shoulder lightly. His smile, though well intended, only served as an eerie contrast with his untouched, disappointed gaze. "What for?" He asked, trying for a chipper tone. "I ain't done with ya yet, snowflake. Just 'cause ya don't remember yet doesn't mean ya got rid of me that easy. I'm gonna keep buggin' ya 'til ya murder me, or ya remember. Whichever happens first." Jack punched him back.

"They both sound like fun, cotton tail." He watched Bunny desperately try to suppress a yawn. He kept his chuckle to himself, then suggested casually that it might be a good time to call it a night. Bunny usually would have preferred to stay up, but couldn't help seeing the idea of sleep as attractive. It had been a long day, full of emotions. He had offered Jack what he could in the way of accommodations, but the boy had insisted on sleeping on the opposite side of the colored pond. He rejected the offer of bed or blanket, which Bunny was slightly grateful for. He wasn't sure he knew where his guest materials were anyway. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had stayed at the warren with him.

But while the pooka had quickly dropped into oblivion, Jack assessed the ceiling above him. It was a vibrant green, it's hues somewhat warped by the dimness of the underground cavity. The lighting in the room seemed to react to Bunny's emotions. It had been far brighter an hour or so ago. But Jack didn't mind the low light. He was keeping his mind off things by picking out shapes in the vines that grew over the moss above him. It worked until one wonky array began to resemble a nightmare the shadows in the room didn't seem quite so peaceful. Jack tried not to let thoughts of Pitch change his view of the dark room, but failed. He could almost hear the mans silky voice.

"Ja-ack..." It called softly. The teen frowned, ears straining. He couldn't almost hear it...Perhaps it had started as quiet as a thought, but now there was definitely someone calling his looked over at Bunny in alarm. Surely with his large ears he had heard the call as well. he watched as Bunny continued his deep breathing, apparently undisturbed."Jack..." The voice was far off, sounding perhaps as if it were behind one of the walls. Jack stood, trying to stretch the pins and needle out of one of his legs. He briefly considered waking Bunny, then decided against it. He would only be gone a moment.

He wasn't quite certain where the voice had sounded from, so he lifted off the ground. He flew down the nearest tunnel, listening to the silence. It seemed to press in on him from all sides. When the strange beckoning came again, it was almost a relief. Jack doubled back, realizing it had come from the tunnel adjacent. He hesitated at the gaping darkness ahead of him, then shook off his wariness. He needed to face Pitch. He didn't know how the man had gotten into the warren, but he knew he needed to confront him head on. He knew Pitch wouldn't leave him alone until he did he flew deeper into the tunnel, he strained to see in the darkness. His unadjusted eyes did not pick up the subtle changes in his surroundings. Grass faded into stone, the dirt walls doing likewise.

When Jack realized where this path had led him, he looked behind him in confusion. His eyes widened as he saw not the tunnel he had come through, but a stone barrier. He frowned, then continued to move ahead. Now was not the time to go back flew on. No one was calling his name anymore, but new sounds had taken the voice's place. A drip here or there. The creaking of the hundreds of metal cages that swung above his head. Most were rusted, some broken. They were abandoned, and creepy. Jack moved on to another he flew down one dark corridor after another, he began to hear a faint whimpering. A confused frown wormed its way onto his face. Who was that? He followed the pitiful noise, sidetracked from Pitch for a moment.

The voice sounded like one that would belong to a young child, most likely a boy. It grew louder as he got closer. Finally he reached a door that was familiar. The noise was coming from the same room he had stayed in when he had been... with Pitch. In a rush he realized where he was, the strange halls and balconies snapping into recognizable landmarks. He was in enemy took a breath, gathering his courage. He pushed the heavy door open. The crying immediately grew louder, and Jack was met with a heart wrenching sight.

"Jamie!" Jack cried, flying over to the boy. A white hot pulse throbbed in his head. Memories overlapped, trying to gain dominance. A sled, zooming through the street.

_ A snowball fight... The boy laughed. A stuffed Bunny, falling into a rug covered in woven, colorful spaceships._

Jack winced, hands gripping his head. He knew this boy, didn't he? A boy named Jamie... He thought he did. The name had been a reflex, called before he knew what he was saying. But no matter now, the child was obviously in distress. Jamie lay in bed, asleep. Asleep, but not at rest. He thrashed around, whimpers escaping him. Tears were streaming down his face, and Jack's breath caught in his throat at the child's terrified expression. How had he gotten here? What was wrong with him? Jack gripped his staff a little tighter. He could figure out the whys and how's later. He needed to do something about Jamie's suffering right now.

He reached for his frail shoulder. A voice interrupted his intention.

"You won't be able to wake him." Jack spun around, staff raised defensively. Pitch smiled at him, then disappeared back into the deep shadows of the room. "Not when he's like this." The voice came from nowhere, yet pierced the quiet clenched his teeth.

"What are you doing to him?" Pitch's laughs reverberated around the cold walls.

"Do you know what a night terror is, Jack?" Jack swung his staff wildly at the presence he felt form to his right. Pitch sidestepped easily, grabbing the length of the staff. He used it to pull Jack closer to him. "It's technical term is 'Pavor Nocturnas'. It's a very exciting technique." Jack stared wide-eyed into his looming face. Another whimper behind them drew Jack's attention. His gaze hardened. He threw a foot into Pitch's side, turning to face Jamie. His whimpers were growing more frantic, rising in intensity. They began to morph into screams. The tears increased, and Jack bit back tears of his own as he watched his young friend sob in his sleep. He couldn't remember much yet, but the details were just on the edge of his mind. What he did know was that the boy in front of him was precious. The feeling he got from looking at the freckled brunett was almost... brotherly. Long fingers touched Jack's shoulders, the breath from Pitch's words brushing his ear. "You can try if you want. To wake him up, I mean." Jack grunted in fury, thrusting his staff behind him. Pitch gave a cruel chortle at his attempt, dodging with a smirk.

"He's just a kid!" yelled Jack, fury clenching the words between his teeth. He lashed out again, not even really aiming at anything this time. The nightmare king watched him calmly.

"That he is." he agreed easily. "Are you really going to let him suffer like this because of your selfish desires?"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Jack. Behind him, Jamie thrashed again, and Jack couldn't handle it any longer. He knelt by the side of the bed, throwing furtive glances at Pitch while he tried to soothe the boy. "Jamie, its okay. Wake up." he gripped both small shoulders, giving them a light shake. "It's just a nightmare! Wake up!" Jamie's eyes flew open. Behind him, Pitch began to laugh once more. "Jamie?" Jack asked tentatively, "Are you-"

"NO!" Jamie shrieked. Jack nearly stumbled back in alarm at the boys passionate terror.

"Jamie? What's wro-"

"No, no, no! Get away from me!" He was sobbing again, barely getting the words out. He scrambled as far away from the winter sprite as possible. "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me." Jamie had partially sat up, curling in on himself in the farthest corner of the small bed.

"I'm not gonna hurt you…" Jack trailed off uncertainly. Something was very wrong. He looked back at Pitch again. The man leaned against the stone wall nonchalantly, watching the scene before him with sick pleasure.

"He may look awake, but I assure he is not." Pitch told him. Jack could feel the anger and the helplessness rising within him. It burned the backs of his throat and eyes.

"Jamie. Come on. Wake… wake up." he pleaded softly. He reached out a hand to touch the trembling figure. It was met with a slap. Jamie exploded from his curled up position.

"Get away!" he screamed. Jack felt a foot land underneath his ribs. He gasped in shock, stumbling back from the bed. A small hand aimed a punch at him, but missed. Jamie collapsed again, unintelligible words mixed in with his crying.

"That's really the best part." the voice from beside the wall told him. "They appear to be awake. To be aware. But they're not. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you try. They won't wake up. They suffer like this until the dream releases them."

"Why?" Jack whispered. "What did he do to deserve to suffer? He's a child."

"Yes, he is. But you know what, Jack? He doesn't need to suffer. Its really you that holds the power here."

"Me?"

"You." confirmed the man. "You have power that I need. And Jack, you may find that once you learn to work with me, I'm not as bad as the guardians would lead you to believe."

"Why would I ever choose to work with you? You lied to me, kidnapped me!" He began to add things he knew about, but couldn't remember to the list. "You killed Sandy! You destroyed Easter!"

"You'd do it because of him." a long grey finger gestured toward the somewhat calmed boy on the bed. "Help me like I want you to, and I'll let him go." A fragment of a memory pierced Jacks mind, making it throb. The same voice, the same inflections…

"_Hand over the staff, and I'll let her go." an icy landscape… a small, distraught fairy in grey fingers... _

"I won't ever send him a night terror again. You just have to join my side of the fight." Pitch continued talking, and the memory started to fade even before he knew what it was. "But I won't make you choose now. I'll even take little Jamie home tonight. Just think about it, Jack. I don't really mind either way. Your help, or a lifetime of fun with this child. It doesn't matter to me, so really its your call."

The ground underneath Jack suddenly fell away. He landed painfully in another dark room. The shadows tilted and whirled around him, and it was all he could do just to hold onto his staff. It seemed Pitch's lair responded to him the way the warren did to Bunny. Jack was helpless. Whenever he tried to run, to find his own footing, the floor would shift again, or he would hit a dead end. Every once in a while he could hear the sharp laughter of the Nightmare King, though it was farther away each time.

Eventually, he fell on soft grass. He was breathing hard, a cold sweat slicking his ice white hair to his brow. He crawled toward the end of the tunnel, not knowing how much time had passed. He was too weak to fly. Pitch had done a number on him, keeping him running until he was exhausted.

After what seemed like an eternity of slinking toward the faraway light, he reached the end of the tunnel. He found himself in the warren once more, happy noises surrounding him. At the beginning of the night, he had thought that it was quiet here. It was nothing like the horrible absence of sound in Pitch's lair.

Jack found his way to the place he had been sleeping before. He knew he needed to think over the event that had just taken place, to tell the other guardians. But each time he even considered getting up, his muscles turned to jelly. Eventually he fell into a restless slumber, dreading the morning to come. He had a choice to make, and he wasn't sure where the guardians would stand in it. He wouldn't keep tonight a secret, but regardless of what they said, the deciding factor would eventually be him.

He just hoped he didn't choose wrong.

**A/N: So, I hope the action in this chapter was exciting. Action writing is something I feel I could use some improvement in, so if you have any suggestions or comments on what I did well, or what I didn't, please let me know! I also understand if you hate me for doing this to Jamie:( I almost made myself cry while writing this! I know it probably didn't make any of you tear up, but hey. I'm a crybaby. I also have a special place in my heart for Jamie because I have a brother around his age. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update! Thanks you guys!**

**Unrelated: I have watched ROTG every single day this week. Except for Wednesday. When I watched it twice. I officially have a seriously unhealthy addiction XD**

**Love, Mariah**


	13. Fear

Jack cracked his eyes open, the light filtering into them in painful shards. Slowly, the sounds around him grew less foreign as he remembered where he was. For three long seconds, Jack was just content to let the sweet aroma of the grass wash over him with the breeze. He flexed his muscles. They were quite sore, despite his long night of rest.

His eyes flew the rest of the way open. He hadn't had a long night of sleep. Muscles cried in protest as he bolted into sitting position. Neither had Jamie. He looked around, trying to see past the blur of his eyes adjusting.

"Oh, good. You're up." A familiar Aussie voice came from somewhere behind him. He swiveled to face it. "I was wonderin' when Sandy would let ya wake up."

"Sandy's here?"

"Nah. He just dumped some dream sand on ya 'n left."

The pit of Jack's stomach twisted into a lurch. He wasn't sure he was ready to discuss the events of the previous night just yet. He hadn't had time to process it himself. A memory of Jamie's tear stained face rose unbidden to his mind. He shook his head to dispel both the image and his trepidation. The guardians needed to know immediately. He could have quiet think time later. "What about the others?"

"Sandy's still gone. Tooth was here for a while, but after she saw ya were okay, 'n that ya weren't wakin' up, she left. The tooth palace can run itself for a while, but she needed to check up on things there. North is still here though."

Almost as if on cue, a booming voice entered the conversation. "Jack! Finally!" The big man made his way over to the two. "How you feeling? Better, I hope. Bunny filled all of us in, and trust us, Jack." His expression grew a little more serious as he looked at the teen earnestly. "We will do everything in our power as Guardians to get you your memories back. What Pitch did was cruel."

"Thanks." replied Jack, flashing him a grateful smile. It was nice to hear, but Jack had bigger things to worry about. "Listen." he continued. "I need to talk to you all. Where did Sandy go?"

"Out sendin' dreams. He probably shouldn't be too much longer. It's been a while since he's been able to give it his full attention, what with all of the things happenin' around here."

"Its still night?" Jack asked, confusion worrying his dark eyebrows. "I guess it may not have technically been night when we turned in last, huh." he resolved.

"Nah, when we called it a night it was probably past midnight on the surface."

"How long were we asleep then?" A bad feeling was beginning to spread up the walls of his stomach. Much more time than just a couple of hours had passed since he had returned from Pitch's lair.

"Well, I was conked out for about a regular night. When I woke up, ya were still asleep, 'n ya weren't wakin' up. I was gonna wake ya when Sandy, Tooth 'n North got here, but Sandy wasn't havin' it."

"Indeed he was not having it!" Jumped in North, laughing. "I nearly lost finger when I tried to shake shoulder. Sandy said you needed sleep."

"He was right, too." Bunny was beginning to notice the sick expression on Jack's face. "Frostbite, sleep is important. Your not gonna get mad at us for helpin' ya sleep, are ya?"

"Something happened last night." Jack said numbly. "How many nights have passed on the surface?"

"Two since we got to the warren." Bunny replied. Jack's strange behavior was putting him on edge. Bunny's paw itched towards his sheathed boomerangs, and he worked to control it. There was no danger here. But that certainly didn't mean that all was well."Frostbite, what happened last night? Did ya have another nightmare?"

"I didn't. Jamie did. If another night passed on the surface, then that means..." he trailed off, pale fingers curling around his staff a little tighter. Extra frost creeped up it's length at the intensified touch, tiny spikes of ice forming. If a second night had passed, it was likely that Jamie had another night terror. This was not good.

"Jack, why would you think Jamie had nightmare?" Inquired North. "Was probably just nightmare of your own. Jamie wasn't here last night. Even if he had bad dream, how would you know?"

"Unless ya left ta go see him." Bunny looked at Jack, suspicion and hurt warring for dominance in his furry face. "Did ya leave without tellin' me? While I was asleep?"

"I... Yeah. But just for a minute."

"Ya went ta Jamie's house."

"No. I never left the warren!" Said Jack. "That's what's so weird! I just followed this voice, and one minute I was going down one of the tunnels, then I was... I don't really know what happened." He looked at Bunny, then waved a hand helplessly. "I just followed this voice, and the next thing I know, I'm trapped. The way behind me is closed up. The only thing I knew was that I needed to face Pitch, and then I heard this crying-"

"That was the only thing ya knew?" interrupted Bunny. Jack stopped, the rest of his words dying in his throat. He looked up at the Pooka, surprised at his sudden anger. "That ya had ta find Pitch? Ya didn't think ta realize that I was here?!" he continued. One boomerang was out, a neat whooshing sound slicing the air with every irate gesture. Jack stumbled back, a few steps closer to the pond behind them as Bunny advanced. "Sleepin'" another whoosh as the boomerang jabbed in the direction of his sleeping place, "Right over there?"

Jack stopped retreating, deciding to hold his ground. "There wasn't time." he said slowly. That was a mistake. Bunny's eyes narrowed even further at his explanation.

"There wasn't time ta hop over there 'n kick me awake before ya pranced off on yer own little adventure?" Bunny got closer again, and Jack lost a few more feet of ground to him. He didn't mean to back up. It was a reflex. He'd never say it out loud, but Bunny could be quite intimidating when mad. Jack hardened his eyes one more time. "It was do or die." He said, enunciating clearly.

"I went with my gut instinct. So are you gonna listen to me, or will Jamie-"

"I really thought after the talk we had that ya had decided ta_ trust_ us." Bunny was not going to let him get a word out. He wasn't ready to listen to him. "Ta trust _me_. Yer not still under the delusion that I want ta hurt ya, are ya?" He took a half step forward for emphasis, and Jack took a half step back in response. Not much, but enough. Enough to throw off his balance as his left foot stepped backwards, looking for purchase that wasn't there. He cried out, his arms beginning to pinwheel as he fell towards the colored pond.

"Jack!" Bunny yelled. The word overlapped with North's shout of alarm as Bunny tried to grab an arm, a sleeve, anything. Unfortunately, Jacks flailing inadvertently smacked his helping hand away. There was a large, multi colored splash as the teen entered the pool. After only a split second, Jack floundered to the surface. he spluttered for a moment, then began to tread water. A sour look was on his face.

"What is this stuff?" He asked, working his tongue around in his mouth. "It tastes like-"

"Vinegar?" Asked Bunny. The tension had snapped like a violin string. He was obviously trying not to laugh. "That's egg dye, mate. It stinks, it doesn't taste nice, 'n believe me." He scrutinized Jack carefully. "It's not comin' out any time soon." A pointed look led Jacks own gaze to his soaked hoodie. He groaned recently, it _had_ been blue. He liked blue. Jack dog paddled to the bank, then with Bunny's help, hauled himself up. He held his hoodie away from his body to further asses the damage. It was splotched with bright hues of pinks, purples and greens. Choice spots were still the royal blue color he favored, but even those were garish. His pants had fared better, though only slightly. Jack could already tell from his hands that egg dye obviously doubled as skin dye as well."Seriously?" He complained. He looked up at Bunny, glad that he was nearly laughing. Jack was pretty irritated with the present circumstances, but at least Bunny had been distracted from his anger.

"If ya think the hoodies bad," said Bunny with a smirk, "ya should really see your hair." Jack flopped into his back, going cross eyed as he focused on the strands of hair that fell in his face. He was met with an attractive, sparkling yellow. Fabulous. Jack pushed the dripping strands away from his eyes. Maybe now in the lighter atmosphere he could get his story out. The only reason he was not already flying to Jamie was that he didn't remember where lived.

"Pitch had Jamie." He said quickly. He didn't like the amount of time they had already wasted arguing. Once he got the most important words out, he felt a little better. Bunny and North would help. He didn't have to deal with this all on his own.

"Last night?" Asked Bunny, the amused sparkle dropping from his eyes. "Ya mean, Jamie was with Pitch? Why?"

North also had questions. "Was he alright? Did Pitch hurt either of you?" Jack was already shaking his head.

"He didn't hurt us... Physically. But I found Jamie, and he was asleep. Then Pitch showed up, and... Look, I only want to tell this story once. Can we wait until Tooth and Sandy are here? In the meantime, I really want to go check up on Jamie. Can we go see him?"

"Yes. Jack, you 'n I will take the rabbit holes there. North, will ya go pick up Tooth?" Bunny tapped the ground. Jack didn't wait to hear the reply. He threw himself down the hole. Bunny caught up with him a few seconds later.

"Guess we'll finally see who's fastest, eh Frostbite?"

Jack managed a grin. "Good luck." he taunted. "First one to Jamie's wins."

oOo

Sandy began to unravel his dream sand, sending them curling elegantly towards the windows and beds of children. Night was just beginning in Burgess, and Sandy was headed towards Jamie Bennett's house.

While the guardians protected and cared for all children, Jamie and Sophie Bennett were definitely favorites. Though that made Sandy, as well as the others, feel a little guilty from time to time, he couldn't help checking in on the two personally every once in a while.

As he floated lazily past the upstairs window, he noted with surprise that the boy wasn't in bed. He frowned, moving his gaze to other parts of the room. Sandy's eyes widened when he spotted Jamie near the corner of the room with... Jack? And Bunny? What on earth where they doing here? He pushed the window open, the clink of the latch drawing the attention of the three already in the room.

oOo

Jack glanced in the direction of the sound that came from. To his extreme surprise, Sandy was floating into the room. The golden, football shaped guardian smiled brightly and waved a greeting.

"Sandman…" Jamie was the first one to greet Sandy. Jack looked in surprise at the boy, wondering why he caught a distinct hint of… fear in his voice? Jack took in Jamie's wide eyes and forced smile. He had been acting normally until just a second ago.

"Sandy, ya have no idea how fantastic yer timing is." Bunny patted the spiky hair that made up a quarter of the little man's height. Sandy smiled, then walked over to the clock beside Jamie's bed. He pointed at the bright digital ten it showed. A pointed look was given to Jamie.

"Oh, yeah." Jack said, understanding. "It is a little late, but trust us. We wouldn't have kept him up if it wasn't important." Sandy still looked skeptical, pointing a chubby finger at the bed, then crossing his arms. Jack was about to say something else when suddenly Jamie, who had been standing nearly motionless let out a squeak.

"No!" he said forcefully. The loud word in the quiet room caught them all off guard. They looked at Jamie. Jack hadn't had time to explain all of the events of the previous night in detail, so while Sandy and Bunny were taken aback, questions in their eyes, Jack knew exactly what was happening. Jamie took a few steps back, hiding behind Jack's legs. "Please don't make me go to sleep!" he begged.

Sandy let his golden eyebrows beetle together. Children that were reluctant to go to sleep were nothing new to him. Nothing new at all. This, though… this appeared to be something different. Jamie's eyes were large, and Sandy saw what could only be the beginning of tears forming on his thick bottom lashes. What could this be? Was Jamie Bennett… afraid to go to sleep?

Jack reached a hand behind him, touching the younger boy's back. He rubbed it soothingly. Jack tried to look up at Sandy as he asked his next question, but his eyes refused to un-stick from the floor. "Sandy," he began, not a little ashamedly. Pitch was right. This was all his fault. "Do you know what Pavor Nocturnas is?" The reaction was instantaneous.

Sandy's mouth fell open. His eyes dragged to the nearly trembling boy behind the winter sprite. Pavor Nocturnas was a term he was well familiar with. Night Terrors. Nightmares were much more common, but those were easily taken care of. Just a touch from him could turn them back into the sweet dreams he had always intended his sand to bring. Pavor Nocturnas, however… they were different. They were the only type of nightmare that he could do nothing about. In fact, they could even transform him instead of vice versa.

He was momentarily transported to a time almost a year ago. In a split second of lapse in his guard, Pitch had taken an arrow crafted from the demon dreams and shot him with it. There was nothing he could do. Not even the sandman could combat such horrors. Sorrowful golden eyes appraised the youth behind Jack. Was this child suffering that way?

Sandy flew closer to Jamie, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. Jamie shrank further behind Jack. "Please…" he whispered. Small hands gripped the brown pants that clothed Jack's legs. "I'll have a nightmare." he pleaded. "I don't remember a lot, I just know it was a nightmare. I woke up crying. Mom was crying. Sophie was awake, and she was scared, too. Please don't make me go to sleep."

Sandy didn't know how to handle this. He knew that Jamie needed to sleep, but he didn't want to be the one to lead the child into that kind of dream horror. He reached to simply pat Jamie's head as a conceding gesture, but the boy clenched his eyes shut and drew as far back as he could. Sandy let out a silent breath. It was painful, this rejection. Never in his entire existence had he come across a child that truly feared him. He brought his hand back, hugging it to his chest. He looked helplessly up at Jack.

Jack saw the pain in Sandy's eyes. He averted his gaze, hoping to hide the guilt that must have been shining there. He took a moment to wonder where North and Tooth were. Surely they should be soon. They needed to discuss what to do about this. Jack only wondered in passing, though. He looked from the boy behind him, terrified of bedtime to the guardian and the hopeless pain that came from a child fearing the very thing they existed for. He knew what his choice would be. After all, one couldn't really call such a situation a choice anyway.

Jack looked up to ask Bunny question, but the words fell unspoken from his lips as he saw the deep writhing shadows in the ceiling corner behind him. Something was growing there, writhing, becoming three dimensional. Jack gave a shout, pulling Jamie even tighter to him. Bunny and Sandy whipped to face whatever had alarmed Jack.

Pitch stepped calmly from the ceiling. He climbed the shadows like stairs down to their level. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest that his greeting consisted of all the weapons available being pointed in his direction. "Oh, Jamie. Your still awake, I see." He noted this indifferently. "This is the time I usually drop by. How have you been sleeping?" The question was directed at Jamie, of course, but while he spoke, Pitch locked his eyes on Jack's.

Jack growled. He knew what decision had been made, but he didn't intend to do it happily. Or quietly. Pitch was a demon.

"No one told me that there was a party tonight." Pitch continued. "Its not good for little kids to stay up so late, you know. Don't you think its quite time for bed?" A sand whip stopped him from continuing. Pitch gave a small cry as he dodged it, throwing himself unceremoniously to the side. His amber eyes hardened as he took in Sandy's offensive stance. When the next whip was thrown, Pitch reached out a hand. He caught the whip. Sandy tried to tug it away, then his face was swept with an expression of surprise. He noticed the black, glittering glove on Pitch's right hand. The sand whip he held firmly was slowly becoming tainted.

"Oh. Do you want this back?" Pitch asked, reveling in the shock around him. "What do you think, Sandman? Effective?" he hurled the whip back to Sandy, who hurriedly brushed the corrupted grains away from himself. When he was sure they were all gone, he glared up at Pitch. "Arrows aren't the only thing I know how to craft." Sandy did not react to his words.

"Jack." he was saying. "Have you thought at all about your priorities?"

"And if I have?" Jack challenged.

"Then I want to hear your conclusion!" Excitement colored the silky voice.

"What if I haven't come to a conclusion yet?" This was a bluff. Jack was stalling for time. He wasn't comfortable taking Pitch until all of the guardians were present with their combined power at the ready.

"If that's the case," Pitch let his eyes harden, the resulting expression some unholy matrimony of anger and glee. "I may have to demonstrate my leverage again."

"You think you can get to Jamie with all of us here?"

Bunny decided to join the banter, finally understanding something. "Ya'll never get past us." he promised. "Jamie's gonna be safe from ya tonight, I swear it."

Pitch took in the guardians, forming a protective circle around the child. Jamie was watching events unfold with a slightly confused and affronted gaze. A laugh started in his chest. Pitch cackled good and long, his deep voice bubbling from somewhere deep within him. The amusement nearly bent him backwards. He gave them a truly terrifying look. The shadows swallowed him, and he disappeared. They looked around the room, desperate to locate where he had gone. His voice continued, coming from somewhere unseen.

"Jamie Bennett is not the only child in this house that can get a nightmare."

**A/N: So there is Chapter 13! I know it took a long time, but here it is:) I know I left quite the cliffhanger this time, so expect an update soon!**

**_After Edit_: I did a read through. Let me apologize to all of you who read this before I fixed all those errors. There were many. O.O Let's take a moment and laugh at how, until recently, Bunny and Jack used the rabbit jokes to get to Jamie's. Thats what happens when I get typing too fast:)**

**love,**

**mariah.**


	14. A Choice is Made

"Jamie Bennett is not the only child in this house who can get a nightmare." Pitch could no longer be seen in the darkened room, but the words were clear and unmistakable. Their ominous meaning turned Jack's blood cold. He gave a small gasp, looking to the guardians around him.

"My sister!" Breathed Jamie. Jack felt small fingernails dig through his pants and into his legs. Beside him, Bunny's ears flattened against his head, and a scowl tore his lips apart.

"There's no way I'm lettin' that slimy rat bag lay one finger on her!" he spit. He turned, hopping heatedly towards the door.

"The door is locked!" Said Jamie quickly. He ran over to Bunny, slipping between him and the door. He fumbled frantically with the lock until it turned. As soon as it sprung open, Bunny leaped through it, his powerful legs launching him halfway down the hall in one bound. He stopped, sniffed, then shot down the stairs. Sandy, Jack, and Jamie ran after him.

When they caught up with him, he was standing in the doorway of another room. Jack leaned over Bunny's shoulder to peek inside. Sophie lay undisturbed in the bed. She was sprawled out, one leg hanging off the edge, and the other on her pillow. The room was eerily calm.

Jamie rose on tip toe, speaking into Jack's ear. "I'll go distract my mom in case you need to fight." He said. Jack nodded in thanks. "I know she'll be safe with you guys." the boy added. Trust shone in his young eyes, and Jack fervently hoped he wouldn't betray it. Jamie ran back the way they had come.

It was quiet until Jamie's far away voice drifted to them from the living room. "Mom, come quick! There's a huge spider in my room! You gotta come kill it, it's ginormous!" Their conversation was the only thing breaking the silence,

Bunny's arm was rested on the door frame. Jack ducked underneath it, slipping into the room. Sophie seemed peaceful enough. Her breathing was slow, and it ruffled the red fur of the toy that lay near her open mouth. They could only hope that Pitch hadn't gone to work on her yet. Bunny entered the room, coming to stand next to the bed. His expression was that of a warrior, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect the sleeping child.

"Aww. How cute." A cold voice entered the room. Jack knew it was probably in his head, but the chill he felt run down his spine seemed all too real. From next to him, he heard a low growl coming from Bunny. "The guardians doing all in their power to protect the little child." The voice continued, growing harder with each syllable. By the last word, it was dripping with sarcasm. "Precious."

Sandy listened carefully. He knew what Pitch's objective was; rile them up. Distract them. While it had not coaxed a response from Jack or Bunny yet, Sandy could only assume it was working. He needed to stay calm, so he could find where the voice was coming from. He had a guess, of course. After all, where else would the bogey man be?

"Come out, ya shadow sneakin' viper!" Sandy ignored Bunny's exclamation, plodding past the irate pooka to the edge of the bed. He lifted the overhang of the rumpled quilt, peering underneath curiously. It was dark, that much was certain. But Sandy did not see any signs of Pitch.

A black chortle began softly, quickly growing to a crescendo of dark amusement as Sandy looked up in confusion.

"Did you really think I would be that predictable?!" The voice cackled. Sandy looked around, Jack and Bunny mimicking his suspicious expression. "There is darkness," the voice went on, "in places other than underneath beds."

Sandy only had time to widen his eyes before a slam from behind them made them all jump. A cold feeling spread throughout Sandy's body, and he knew that he had made a mistake. Pitch Black was not confined to the realm of underneath beds. Pitch thrived wherever there were shadows; deep corners, the darkness at the top of the stairs, and of course, in closets.

Sophie Bennett had a closet next to her bed.

A blow struck Sandy cruelly from behind, and as he turned, a flash of darkness crept up one of his short arms. A touch had been all it had taken for the corruption of the Terror Glove to worm it's way into his own sand essence. He stumbled forward, glaring at the black sand covering Pitch's right hand.

Pitch did not give any of them a moment to recover. Once he had dealt a blow to Sandy, he immediately made to attack Bunny. The pooka threw himself forward, embracing the challenge readily. Pitch clawed at him, raking long fingers down Bunny's soft fur. Terror sand got tangled in the strands, then morphed themselves into large bugs. They scampered over the rabbit's body, their pincers clacking chillingly.

Bunny hurriedly slapped at the bugs. He tried to focus on Pitch, but the pests that peppered his body had begun to pinch him cruelly. Each tiny bite stung with alarming pain, and Bunny winced.

A smile cracked across Pitch's face as he saw the struggle. A small chuckle bubbled through his dry, grey lips. Taking advantage of Bunny's momentary shift in focus, he made for the sleeping child.

"No!" bellowed Bunny. He quit slapping at the bugs. They could bite him if they wanted.

They did.

As he stopped brushing them off, the biting increased. The pinching turned from distractingly unpleasant to white-hot pricks of pain that elicited small cries and gasps as he threw himself protectively on top of Sophie. His body blocked any possibility of the Terror sand reaching her, but he was worried about the horrible bugs on his skin. What if they sensed another warm body and began to attack the child?

"Jack!" he cried. "Mate, help!' Jack looked up from Sandy. He had been helping the little man brush off the Terror sand, but the tainted grains were spreading with worrying speed. Any lapse in focus from Jack or Sandy could tip the balance in this battle of Black versus Gold.

"I can't!" Jack choked out. He saw the direness of Bunny's situation as well, but knew that if he left Sandy on his own, the dream spinner might not make it. He returned to furiously brushing blackness off of Sandy's back. Already his pause had allowed the darkness to eat away worrying amounts of his friend.

Underneath Bunny, Sophie had woken up. After all, the weight of someone as big as him could hardly be ignored, even when asleep. She came around, thoroughly confused. Much of Bunny's weight was resting on his arms as he created a protective shield around her. She had just enough room to wriggle out from underneath him, not understanding the situations she was putting herself in.

Sophie had recognized Bunny's familiar voice and silky fur, and all she knew was that she couldn't say hi to him from under here. Also, if Bunny was around, maybe the others were too. She wanted to see Santa, the pretty fairy, the sparkly yellow one and Jack.

Bunny felt her stir underneath him, then recognized her intention. "No! Ya listen ta me, ya ankle biter, ya stay down!" Sophie, being Sophie, paid no thought to his desperate words. She popped out triumphantly from underneath his safe cocoon. "No!" Bunny shouted, seeing her blonde mop of hair disappear over the edge of the bed.

Jack heard the despairing cry from his friend, and looked over. He froze as he took in the new aspect of Sophie's danger. Pitch had seen her push herself away from Bunny, and immediately slithered underneath the bed. His form poured onto the other side, grabbing hold of the squirming girl as he formed himself again.

"Hey!" cried Sophie indignantly. "No!" she wriggled, twisting and turning in the nightmare king's grasp. Pitch only chuckled. He snapped his fingers, the click loud in spite of the glove covering his fingers. It only took a fraction of an instant for Onyx, his chosen nightmare steed, to appear. He morphed from the cracks in the floorboards, and Sophie stopped moving as she took in the sudden proximity of the steaming, coal-like eyes of the stallion. Black sand blew from his large nostrils as he huffed a stinking breath.

Sophie did not like this horsey. It was big, and scary. Not at all like the ponies she loved to watch on TV. She looked at Bunny, who was standing stock still only a few feet away. Surely her friend would never let the horrible monster hurt her.

"Bunny." she whimpered quietly. "No horsey. Please no horsey." Her large green eyes with Bunny's. The pooka felt something inside him tear. This emotion... it was some strange mixture of despair and fury. Sophie's eyes were filling with tears as she took in Bunny's lack of activity. Why wasn't he helping her?

"Hey. Sophie." Her gaze shifted to face the voice from her right. Jack was there. He smiled at her fondly. She was slightly comforted, but could still recognize the tightness in his eyes. "Sophie, that horsey isn't going to hurt you. I promise, okay? That horsey... that horsey is a good horsey. He _likes_ you!" Sophie peered again at the stallion in front of her. Could this possibly be true? How could something so horrible not be bad? But if Jack said it...

"Oh?" asked Pitch, quite interested in Jack's chosen method of soothing the girl. "A good horsey, is he?" Pitch held Sophie closer to the nightmare. "Maybe for me. But you're right on one account. He definitely likes little Sophie here." Onyx snorted in reply, pawing a sharp hoof to the ground. Sophie shied away from those burning eyes, which were now closer to her face than ever.

"But he's not going to hurt her!" Jack cut in angrily. He glanced at Sandy. He was still desperately trying to fend off the terror sand, but it was obvious that he was fighting a losing battle. Bunny, facing away from Jack, was showing him an excellent view of the blood clotted fur that marked where the terror insects had ripped his skin open with their pincers. He assumed they were still at their horrible work, judging from the occasional twitching of Bunny's paws and the short, quiet gasps he occasionally gave. Bunny's substantial pride was probably the only reason he was not rolling on the floor in a panic as most people would with things like that scouring their body.

Lastly, he looked at Sophie. She was nearly trembling in fear. Such a state was so different from her usual adorable, carefree self that Jack could feel his heart climbing into his throat. "He's not going to hurt her…" he tried to say around it, "Because…"

Pitch's voice echoed from the night before and into the present. _"Are you really going to let him suffer because of your selfish desires?"_ he had asked.

Jack carefully placed a stone wall between himself and his emotions. No. He would not let them suffer for him. That was not an option. "…Because if he does, you can forget about me joining you. For good."

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Jack?" he asked. The question had self-satisfied under tone. Pitch knew what Jack was saying. He just wanted him to say it out loud, in front of the two present guardians. Jack bit back a curse.

"I'm saying," he replied, working to keep his voice level, "that I think you and I would make a great team. But not if you're going to hurt children. Not physically." Black sand had crept up to Sandy's sparkling neck, sucking the light of his own grains out of him like some kind of fiendish parasite. He didn't have much longer. "Now put her down. And stop the black sand."

"Those are your conditions?" the silky voice purred. Jack hated him in that moment. Pitch was stalling on purpose, toying with him.

"Yes!" he yelled, clenching his eyes shut. "Stop the sand! _Now_!" Jack slammed his staff to the ground. He controlled the frost and wind that so desperately wanted to burst from it, but only just. In the ensuing silence, only one sound came. A click. Jack cracked open his eyes. He watched in relieved wonder as the dark specks flowed from his friend and back into that revolting glove. Sandy was slowly turning back to his own healthy shade of metallic yellow. The look on the mans face stopped Jack's relief in its tracks, though.

Hurt, and Confusion. Sandy looked downright betrayed.

He looked disappointed.

Jack averted his gaze. His choice had been made. His lowered eyes didn't save him from the whip of Bunny's words. "Jack, what are ya talkin' about." Jack allowed himself a peek at Bunny's expression. Perplexion and thunder. That was all he saw there. Jack reinforced the mental wall he had put up, then pushed harshly past Bunny to Pitch's side. He noticed Bunny's lack of pained twitching with a gentle relief. Good. He looked up into the face of his new companion. Pitch laughed gleefully as he passed Sophie to Jack. "Well done, Jack!" he praised. His amber eyes flashed. "Well done."

Jack clutched Sophie tightly for a moment, then sat her on her bed. "See?" he asked with a forced chuckle. "You're okay." Sophie wiped her nose, than offered him a tear-soaked smile. She didn't understand a lot of what just happened, but she was glad to be away from the tall dark one. He was scary.

"Jack, ya can't be serious." Bunny was quiet now. He looked at Jack with a gaze of emerald fire. A knuckle or two cracked as he clutched his boomerang still tighter. "Yer not! The Jack I know would never help Pitch! Stop actin' stupid!"

"That's the thing." the winter sprite replied numbly. "How could you know me?" He hated the words he was saying, but it was better to sever the connection. He didn't know how long he would have to be with Pitch until he found a way around the darkly effective leverage the man had. Jack met Bunny's gaze steadfastly. "Of course I'm not the Jack you knew. I'm the Jack that woke up at the lake not too long ago. And maybe you didn't realize, but a person can change a lot in three hundred years." He took a step closer to Pitch, who placed a hand possessively on Jack's shoulder with a small chuckle. Jack ignored the biting fingernails. "This is who I am now." He turned to face Pitch, calling on all of his self-control to not scowl. "Can we just go?" he asked in a monotone.

"Yes. We can." grey lips smiled, then the nightmare king, turned and opened the window. Bunny stared, looking as though he'd been slapped. Jack tore from the eye contact as Pitch melted into the shadows on the side of the Bennett house.

Then he followed.

**A/N: So... basically I'm a lying lier-pants who lies. I know I said I'd update quickly, but here we are! I don't know how many of you actually care how often I update, but on the off chance that one or two of you are excited for new chapters, I want to update regularly about once a week. Lately, school has gotten in the way, but I'll see what I can do:)**

**Also, I lied about the whole conclusion thing. Hehe, I guess it wasn't technically a lie since I believed what I was saying at the time, but then a whole new plot twist hit me, and I think its on its way to being a little longer than originally planned. Tell me, are you guys okay with that? Because if you're not, I can close up this arc and save the other plot twist for maybe a seperate fic. What happens, happens, I guess:D**

**Unrelated: I finished this chapter during a huge thunderstorm. It was spectacular! I wrote the last line as a flash of lightning lit the room, and thunder played behind my maniacal laughter.**

**Not really.**

**But it felt that way:D I hope the chapter was pleasing, fellow fanfictioners! I WILL try to update on a schedule now, but since I've warned you that I'm a lier, maybe you shouldn't get to excited. .**

**Love,**

**Mariah**


	15. Become as you Were

"Hong kong, 23 incisors! Sydney, 7 molars, one bicuspid. Chicago, 3 premolars and 17 canines. Head out!" Tooth barked her orders without hesitation. She was flying down into one of the lesser used parts of the Tooth palace. In the basement of the Tooth palace, there were not many things she needed very often. However, she had a feeling that there could be something there that might help with Jack's memories. After all, where was a better place to look for information on lost memories than the very storehouse of all the memories in the world?

One fairy flitted close to her head and squeaked a problem into her ear. Tooth came to a stop in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. "What do you mean she grabbed South American currency?! She's in the Asia department! Fine, you take her what she needs, and quick! If you can't, then delegate. There are four hours until sunrise in Japan, work west from there." Tooth barely glanced at the fairy she was speaking to. She laid a hand on the intricate carvings in the door, and took a deep breath. The colorful mosaic underneath her fingers began to glow, then roll back in a wave of iridescent diamonds. Where two doors had stood, there was now a gaping arch. She flew through.

"I need some time." she informed the swarm of fairies as they attempted to follow her in. "Baby Tooth, can you take charge for a few more hours?" The little fairy nodded, practically glowing with pride. She turned and resumed order giving in her mother's stead as the doors reformed themselves behind Tooth.

This was a storage room of sorts. Everything that didn't have a place found a home in this room eventually. It looked somewhat akin to a museum exhibition, with everything carefully labeled and placed. She slowed fractionally, and trailed her long fingers affectionately along the box that held the baby teeth her parents had given her as a child. They had saved her life.*

This was also where the Man in the Moon contacted her, if the need arose. She hadn't been down here in at least a century, probably closer to that plus a half. Tooth hovered above the fanciful 'G' painted onto the floor. She wasn't sure what she had expected in coming down here. She didn't have any secret weapons…

Tooth allowed the thought to trail off. That was a lie. She turned around. She had passed it seconds ago, on her way in. Her sword. That was definitely a weapon. She hadn't touched it in years, sure, but it was definitely a powerful weapon. She could still remember back to the time when she never let it leave her side. She had stopped relying on it far in the past, after she had become a guardian and began to enjoy all of the new powers that came as such, and so had placed it down here. She flew towards it curiously. Could it somehow be useful? She didn't see how.

Once she came to stand in front of it, she went to touch it. She drew her fingers back when a clanking came from behind her. She turned sharply. There was no one in here but her; that was certain. It was impossible for anyone but her to even enter, and she had brought no one with her. Her stance softened as she realized what had happened. The door in the roof had opened. Fresh moonlight was spilling on to the neglected guardian symbol, and Tooth returned to hover above it. She looked up through the shafts that had been carved through the floors above. This was definitely not the most convenient place for contact, and if Manny had reason to speak to her more often, it might have been a problem. As it stood, he usually contacted Sandy or North, who then called meetings. It was easiest that way.

Tooth waited patiently for all to become clear. If Manny was contacting her here, it must be personal. Personal and important. She watched as the shadows began to gather, forming familiar shapes.

A figure with a staff. Tooth smiled, hope beginning to rise within her. Could Manny be telling her how to return his memories? She waited for the next silhouette eagerly.

A tall man. Spiky hair, pointed chin. Tooth's eyes narrowed. Pitch?

The second figure flowed over to the first. A hand was placed on the first's shoulder. Tooth expected the Jack to push it away. He didn't. The two figures stared up at her with their hollow, moonlit eyes. Tooth stared at them for a moment longer, then vocalized her thoughts.

"I don't understand." She gazed towards the small patch of inky sky. What was Manny trying to say?

The cold hiss of scraping metal came from behind her. Tooth turned to face it, her confusion growing. An ivory snake of moonlight had snaked over to her sword, and it now floated towards her, free of its sheath for the first time in centuries. Despite its lack of use, it gleamed deadly silver in the sparkling light shed on it now. It seemed to be held aloft by the threads of light alone. Tooth shifted her position slightly as it was carried gently past her. It came to a stop directly above the guardian symbol. As its shadow fell upon those of Jack's and Pitch's, they dispersed.

Tooth looked at her sword. So she was going to need it, she was reasonably sure that was part of what Manny was telling her. But for what? If it was merely a weapon she needed, surely he wouldn't have chosen this. It was good sword, yes but she had far more efficient means of defending herself now. She glanced upward once more, then gasped.

Descending towards her was a memory box. That much was sure. Tooth appraised it intently as it came closer; it wasn't like any memory box she had ever seen. It had the same shape and size, but while the memory boxes of the children were usually gold, this one was drenched in varying shades of icy blue. Where the face of the memory's identity should have gone, there was merely a snowflake. Tooth reached out a hand as it came level with her, hesitating only slightly. She had trained herself not to touch the boxes of the children. If she did, she would be thrown into their memories, whether she wanted to see them or not.

Tooth knew exactly what kinds of personal things could be inside those boxes, and thus tried to stay out of them. If she was right, and Manny was somehow giving her Jack's guardian memories, she wanted to respect his privacy. But she continued to reach for the box when she remembered that Jack had been fine with showing her his human memories. Besides, what else was she going to do? Let the box fall to the floor? She uncurled her fingers, and the cylinder fell into her palm. It was smooth, and cold against her hand. She closed her eyes and waited for the memories to start, only to open them again a moment later. Nothing was happening.

She placed a couple of fingers on the intricately carved flat side of the box. The colorful diamonds rolled back as they always did, but instead of being submerged in a memory, she was shown the inside of the box. This wasn't normal.

Aside from the fact that she could not get into the memories, there was another thing wrong with this picture. In the tiny, velvet lined nooks where adorable little teeth would usually rest, there were tiny, delicate looking snowflakes. To the side of each one, was a painted symbol. Tooth glanced over them all until she came to one she knew the significance of. A staff, instantly recognizable, with an amount of detail that she felt sure even Bunny would gape at. The snowflake next to it was slightly smaller than the others, but equal in beauty. Tooth studied them for a moment longer, then came to a conclusion she felt was reasonable.

"These are… memories, aren't they?" She asked aloud. She brushed the painting of the staff next to the glittering fleck of snow. "And this one," She thought how to best put her theory into words. "This one is our Jack's. The others, they're…" She didn't recognize any of the other symbols. But then again, she had never known any of the previous Jack Frosts. "They are the memories of the Jack Frost before our Jack. And the one before him." Tooth had of course, known that the Jack she knew was only the most recent reincarnation; after all, snow and ice were part of the world long before Jackson Overland Frost was born during the colonial stage of America. But she had never given it any thought before.

"The other Jacks'…" she started, a small ridge growing between her eyes, "Were they as alone as our Jack? Were they believed in?" She looked up at the moon, an entire state of mind opening up to her. "How did they… Does this mean Jack can die? Permanently?" Tooth waited, letting the silence cultivate her thoughts. She wasn't exactly sure what she was waiting for. An answer? A sign? She didn't know.

Tooth reached for the sword in front of her wearily. It didn't truly matter, she supposed. What mattered now was getting this memory box to Jack. The memories would probably open up to him, as he was who they were meant for. But unexpectedly, when her fingers came into contact with the hilt of the sword, the light of the moon intensified, until she was surrounded by a piercing whiteness that forced her eyes closed. A voice resounded in her head. It was masculine, though not too deep. It was lilting and peaceful. In its smooth tones she heard what could only be described as the personification of comfort. It spoke one simple sentence.

"_**To survive, become as you were."**_

The light faded gradually, and after a few moments, Tooth was left in the center of the room, clutching her sword and the memory box. Her eyes readjusted to the dim lighting of the room, and she stood motionless for a while. This was a big deal. Manny had actually spoken to her. She had heard his voice, once, maybe twice in all of her time as a guardian, and she knew that the other guardians experiences were very similar. She thought about his words carefully. Each one was precious, something she would probably never hear again.

_To survive, become as you were._

But what did that mean? Become as she was a year ago? A hundred years ago? She sighed, then made to get up. As she did, she was reminded of the sword in her hand. She looked at it, suddenly a new line of thought blooming. Manny had spoken to her as she had touched her sword. Could he have meant become as she was back when she depended on this weapon? Back when each of her little fairies were not individuals with their own minds and thoughts, but a part of her being? The thought was worrying. If that were what Manny wanted her to do… well, she just couldn't see how that would be the wise thing to do. If she were to recall all of her fairies, how would the teeth get picked up and delivered back here? There was no way that was what he meant, she decided. But the sword…

Tooth swung her sword in a circle, letting the muscle memories in her hand do their work. She was not as rusty as she had thought she would be. Yes, this must be what Manny wanted. For her to carry her sword again.

oOo

Tooth stepped out of the room, letting the arching doorway fold in behind her. Her sword was sheathed on her side, and the memory box was clutched in her hand.

"Tooth!" Came a voice from her left. She turned to it sharply, then relaxed as she took in the familiar form of North. He was straightening up from leaning on the wall, and his eyes were crinkled into that ever present smile. "I am so glad you are here. Fairies told me eet might be a while before you came out. I was almost ready to leave."

"Sorry. Has Jack woken up yet?"

"Yes he has. He ees with Bunny. They went to Jamie's."

"Jamie's?" tooth asked in confusion. "Why did they go to… well you know, never mind. Something really important has happened! While I was in there, I -"

"Listen, eet might be good idea to talk on the go. Eet has been a while, and I told Bunny and Jack we would meet them there. Let's go, da?"

"Absolutely." Said Tooth. She began to fly down the hallway, towards where North usually landed the Sleigh. She remembered to slow down when she realized North was jogging after her. They continued forward. She handed the memory box to North, who inspected it curiously. "I think this will get Jack's memories back."

North whooped happily. "Alright! Then we have no time to lose! Jack, we are on our way!"

**A/N: *Quietly sneaks back onto the internet.***

**OH! Hey guys! what are you doing here...**

**Sorry.**

**I offer no excuses. But I'm Back now! *nudges chapter towards followers as a peace offering***

**Anyway, chapter fifteen is finally up? I know, I know, for that long of a hiatus, this is a pretty poor chapter. But, rest assured, the final story arc is coming, and... well, lets just say I hope you're impressed. _I_ think it's good. I can't wait until I get it up so you guys can tell me what you think!**

**Thanks for your patience! I love you all!**

**Love,**

**Mariah**


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